I searched this site for advice on what product/configuration can be used to use an LG Smart TV yet increase privacy, reduce the exposure.
I checked past discussions and the last one appears to have been 2 years ago.
Is there anything I can place between the LG TV and the internet connection?
Don’t connect the TV to the internet at all and get a standalone device like an Apple TV for streaming. This applies to all smart tvs, not just LG.
Completely agree with this - never connect the TV to any network, ever. The TV has more equipment and a greater ability to spy on you when turned off.
I’ll add that if you get something like Apple TV or an Amazon Fire stick, once set up, if your TV has a powered USB plug, plug the device into the USB, preferably with a no-data cord. TVs generally don’t power USB plugs when turned off, so the TV has no one to talk to, and the device will actually be powered down. It might complain about you need to use a better power source or whatever if you do this during setup. Set up the device and do updates plugged in to the power source that came with it, then change to USB on the TV.
Further, consider alternate front ends like Grayjay/Fcast from a computer rather than using the Youtube or Spotify apps.
I’d also recommend Apple TV here and treat it like a dumb TV.
But to your question.
Something like Adguard Home or a PiHole is probably the next best thing. Not sure how easy it would be to wire the TV into a Raspberry Pi and have it provide the network connection. But this is limited. Sure you can block third party tracking domains like Facebook but you can’t block LG’s own domains and the tracking that comes with them.
Whatever Privacy and Security setting the TV has also need to be reviewed in detail and are often intentionally vague.
The TV likely has a microphone and possibly a camera as well. If there are setting that turn them off, go for it. Take into account where you put it. Taping them over wouldn’t do any harm in my opinion even if it might not always help with a mic.
Thank you for this guidance. I’ll pick up Apple TV and see about connecting it up.
Wanted to come back and again thank the folks recommending Apple TV 4K.
It is now hooked up to the LG Smart TV. The TV is configured as a dumb TV using the HDMI connection for Apple TV.
The remote turns both TV and Apple TV on at the same time. The screen that is brought up is Apple TV. Sound and Mute both control the TV as well. I configured everything I could find to deny any request to share my data.
After going from the LG Smart TV, I am seeing no differences in what I use the TV for.
Again, thanks for your responses and guidance on this! Hopefully others may benefit from this as well.
The Apple TV device is less dangerous than a “smart TV” because it does not have a microphone or a camera (some remotes have microphones, though), but it isn’t exactly a privacy respecting device. A better solution would be a Linux HTPC. Because you are essentially using a generic Linux distro, you trade off some UI polish vs. an Apple TV. But you gain freedom, and flexibility in using the machine however you like (e.g., to play games on). As far as I know, Android and Apple TV boxes do not even run browsers, which means you can’t use the high seas for your content. Also no ad-blocker on Youtube, etc.
That works great if the person using the TV has the knowhow to deal with the inconveniences. Might be easy for you, me or the OP, but a parent or grandparent might not have the patience/dexterity for it. The reason I got an AppleTV for my mum was to save time dealing with fatiguing phonecalls to troubleshoot trivial (for me, not her) issues. The OP might not be the only one living in the property the TV is at.
I originally got this as a response on the Techlore forum.
They self host the videos on a seperate device (they use a Jellyfin setup) and stream to the Infuse Video Player locally. Which offers something that’s a bit more setup and forget.
You are correct in that the Apple TV is a streaming box, and isn’t really caoable of doing more.
The key reasons it’s recommended are that Apple is a relatively private company (compared to alternatives), the device is relatively secure and it’s broadly simple to setup and use.
The software support is also a bit longer than other Apple Devices and the Apple TV HD from 2015 will still reportedly get TvOS 26 support.
Overall, Apple TV will still be my recommendation for most people.