New Google TV with new google account + VPN or without Internet access

Questions
26

Reading again, the concern is mostly about HDR and I do understand that one.
But there are solutions with small mini PCs indeed

Don’t give up and let your TV spy on you buddy! :hugs:

The main con for option 2 is that manual updates reset the TV to factory

Damn, what a drawback RIP for that one. :joy:

Great setup on everything else otherwise!
I’ll personally would route everything through your VPN if it was me and indeed offline the whole Google TV part. And deal with the drawbacks of it. :+1:t2:

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30

If you have the option for manual updates without internet connectivity then forget the apps and Google account. Don’t bother updating frequently if it resets calibration. If Google TV is an OS then a connected Google TV is spyware. Google televisions don’t need to worry about malware if you use it like a monitor. All smart TV apps go out of date long before the TV dies. It can store data too, so if you only connect to the internet once every 6 months it can still transmit that. If firmware can be updated offline that is your only privacy respecting option. There are still projectors without these features.

Google TV is the new, personalised experience that comes built into smart TVs and streaming devices from top brands. Google TV is powered by an underlying operating system called Android TV OS. Some smart TVs and streaming devices are powered by Android TV OS but do not have the Google TV interface. These devices are referred to as Android TV devices.

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31

I would ping @PurpleDime for this question as I think they did try a service like jmp.chat.

32

I’m surprised I had not commented on this thread because I’m pretty sure not long ago someone asked for similar advice.

By Google TV I’m guessing you mean you got a smart TV that runs Android TV?
Because as far as I know, Google doesn’t manufacture televisions, and all smart TVs run Android.

My advice is the same as before:

RULE #1: DO NOT connect your smart TV to the internet. Use a TV box instead.

I understand that using a TV box means spending more money, but that is what I would recommend. I use the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, which is arguably the best Android TV Box from a UI & UX standpoint. From a privacy standpoint, it’s still Android, but it has less bloatware.

That is an excellent idea, but apply it to the TV box instead.

Don’t connect your TV to the internet and use a VPN to create an anonymous Google account that will be exclusively used for your TV box.

Creating a Google account anonymously can be tricky though because it will require a phone number.

If you live in a country where ID registration is not required when buying or using a prepaid SIM card, (US, UK, Canada(?)), then I suggest you do that as your chances of success are pretty much guaranteed.

If you live in a country where ID registration is required however, which is most countries, then you will need to use a service like SMSPool or JMP.Chat.

I have only used SMSPool, but have heard good things about JMP.Chat too.
Both accept Monero which allows you to pay anonymously.

If you are going to go this route, my advice is the same as before:

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33

no

it’s an android tv based operating system made by google themselves that tailors fully to google services including gemini (in the context of smart tv, yeah it’s that confusing)

Android TV is like the parent of all tvs, boxes, sticks etc.

many especially newer tv, tv boxes/sticks run on Google TV, its a bit rare to find Android TV only with the exception of tv sticks and boxes

Corrrect, this is a rule set in the wiki too

it also points to alternative means so yeah

tbh alot of OP’s answer could have pointed to this community wiki

34

Oh, yes, I remember hearing about. I got a new Android phone recently and by default it had the Google TV app. I don’t think I was able to remove it.

Does this mean Google TV is replacing Android TV? Is it simply a rebranding of Android TV?

I really hope someone in the privacy community comes up with a simple private alternative to Android/Google TV.

35

Google TV is not replacing Android TV necessarily, its more superseding I guess. To my understanding under the hood it is still Android TV just with google sprinkle
for alternative, in the exact wiki this was shared:

36

Apologies for ghosting this topic. Was severely ill for a couple of weeks and then the TV came and I was testing things.

TLDR: Google TV OS running on the TV has a certain limitation that is a deal breaker to me. Will get a new STB and if it is Android/Google TV based I will use the same connectivity scheme I detail below. If one is knowledgeable my approach is fairly straight forward to replicate.

I skimmed the posts since the last time I posted and would like to address a couple of things before I go into my finding and my setup.

  • The OS of the TV is Google TV.
  • A TV running Google TV OS is slightly worse for privacy than a STB running android or Google TV because of ACR (Automatic Content Recognition). Other than that they are pretty much identical in my opinion. In my case I expect telemetry and spying goes to both Google and TCL. Getting an nVidia shield means telemetry and spying goes to Google and nVidia. The connectivity approach I implemented bypasses most if not all of those concerns.

How the TV is connected:

  1. Ethernet is plugged in to a VPN gateway which has no access to my network.
  2. Wi-Fi is connected to a network that is isolated in its own subnet without Internet access.
    • I have a socks5 proxy server listening on my OpenWRT router providing access to the rest of my network and the Internet at large.
    • I use SocksTun to provide apps access to the proxy server.

Initial setup:

  1. Disabled the microphone that is built in to the panel using the switch on the bottom.
  2. Updated the set to the latest firmware using a manual update with a USB.
  3. Created a new Google account for use solely with the TV with fake information.
  4. Connected the TV with the VPN gateway and signed in with Google. This is required to be able to install apps.
  5. Did not pair the remote with the TV so the remote mic is useless even if accidentally pressing the talk button.
  6. Went in permissions and disabled mic access to all apps.
  7. Downloaded a browser app from Google Play to download and install Obtainium.
  8. Uninstalled the previously mentioned browser app.
  9. Used Obtainium to install SocksTun.
  10. Disconnected the Ethernet cable and connected to the Wi-Fi network.
  11. Used SocksTun to connect Obtainium to the proxy server.
  12. Using Obtainium I installed the following apps:
  1. Used TV Bro to download and install Kodi.
  2. Used SocksTun to connect all these apps except FLauncher to the proxy server.
  3. Remapped the buttons on the remote to my liking but the most important one is that I remapped the push-to-talk button to do nothing globally. Even though the remote is not paired this is an option should one choose to pair it. Before remapping it a toast notification would appear saying I had to pair the remote in order to be able to use voice actions. After remapping that notification doesn’t appear.

My initial thinking to use the Kodi proxy connection does not work because that proxy applies only to Kodi itself and not any plugins one may have installed. Luckily SocksTun works great for this.

I have not connected the TV using the Ethernet cable once since then. So all in all the TV was connected to the Internet with unfettered access using the VPN gateway for about 5 minutes. I am monitoring the TCL releases on Telegram and will connect it when an OTA release is announced so I can update it.

Now only the apps I allow via SocksTun can access my network and the Internet.

This setup works with the following limitations:

  1. AFR (Automatic Frame Rate) does not work for apps, only via HDMI. This is the main deal breaker for me because the OS is locked at 60Hz and 3:2 pulldown on large screens gives me a headache after about 20 minutes.
  2. This also means that the resolution is locked at 3840x2180p and the app playing the media has to handle upscaling in software when viewing lower res content. I tested this playing 1080p content from HDMI and hardware does a much better job upscaling than software.
  3. Some apps UI/UX is not great on the TV. Obtainium is terrible but workable with a keyboard. I ended up exporting the list of apps from my phone and importing it on the TV using a samba share I access with Material Files. Updating apps is a breaze. KeyMapper is also an offender to a lesser extent but after initial setup one will rarely open it. Tubular is also not great and it requires some getting used to but is functional. Not a terrible trade-off overall.
  4. Some annoying popups here and there. Mainly the “Wi-Fi has no Internet access” every time the TV is turned on.
  5. KeyMapper has to be re-enabled every time the TV is restarted.

Everything else works as expected. Google/TCL don’t get my data and Kodi/Jellyin apps are able to connect to my Jellyfin instance. Most play all HDR formats. There was a toggle in Kodi that even made it work with FEL or MEL (not sure which as I didn’t care enough to research further but it was probably MEL).

Considering I can’t even watch an episode longer than 20 minutes, let alone a movie, without getting a headache I will be buying a STB and should it be Android/Google TV based I will configure it exactly the same way as I’ve detailed above. If CoreELEC is an option I will go with that route. It will all come down to availability and price.

For the time being I’ve gone back to using LibreELEC on my raspberry pi 4. It lacks DoVi and HDR10+ compatibility which is why I’ll be getting a new STB. The TV will remain connected as it currently is so it can receive OTA updates in the future and Tubular as an afterthought until I settle on which STB to get and see what my options are.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the TV is still not calibrated because the service is mostly unavailable in my country. One guy quoted me 600 Euros which I’m not willing to shell out. If I manage to calibrate it professionally using 20-point calibration I’ll probably keep the connectivity as it stands. If not I’ll likely disconnect it entirely and use 2-point calibration by eye-balling it.

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