LG OLED TVs Logged Mic Audio in Standby and Scanned Home Networks, Researchers Find
A group of independent security researchers and hardware testers say retail LG OLED televisions captured clear microphone audio while the screen appeared to be switched off, and continuously scanned the home network for other devices. The findings, published on 7 September 2026 after bench testing that included the current G5 OLED, describe behaviour that is switched on out of the box rather than something an owner opts into.
What the testing found
The researchers put the televisions behind packet-capture tooling and watched what left the set. Two behaviours stood out.
The first is audio. During bench testing a television recorded intelligible microphone audio while its screen was dark and the set looked, to anyone in the room, powered down in standby. When the researchers pulled the Ethernet cable, the set did not stop; it wrote the voice data to local storage and uploaded the files once the connection came back. Voice prompts were also found logged in plain text within webOS.
The second is the network sweep. The sets probed the local network for unrelated hardware — phones, smartwatches and anything else answering on the LAN — and collected internal IP addresses alongside the names and signal strengths of neighbouring Wi-Fi networks and location data. None of that is needed to display a picture.
Where the data goes
Collected viewing and device information feeds LG Ad Solutions, the company's advertising arm. LG televisions also run Automated Content Recognition, branded Live Plus, which samples what is on screen into digital fingerprints and logs viewing across every input — so a games console, a Blu-ray player or a plugged-in laptop is covered, not just the built-in apps. Live Plus ships enabled.
The scale is the reason this matters beyond one model. LG has reported roughly 216 million smart TV sales worldwide, and its advertising division claims reach into 363 million secondary addressable devices in the United States alone.
Separately, the team documented remote code execution vulnerabilities in webOS. Those are moving through responsible disclosure rather than being published, so no detail is public and there is no evidence of them being used against anyone. LG had not issued a public response to any part of the investigation at the time of writing.
What LG owners can actually change
Most of this is governed by the consent screens shown during setup, which many people accept in bulk. Those agreements can be revisited later. On current webOS sets, press the gear button on the remote, choose All Settings, then Support, then Privacy & Terms, then User Agreements. LG documents this path in its own help library. The viewing-information agreement is the one covering Live Plus, and the voice agreement covers speech data.
Three practical notes:
- The agreement list will not load unless the television has an internet connection and the correct country is set, which is awkward if your instinct is to disconnect first. Change the settings, then disconnect.
- Wording and menu depth vary by webOS version and by country, because the consent set differs between regions. Read what each toggle says on your own set rather than assuming the labels match a screenshot.
- Withdrawing consent addresses data collection you agreed to. It is not a guarantee about every packet the set emits.
The researchers' own recommendation is blunter: keep the television off the internet entirely and drive it with an external streaming box or stick, so the panel is a display and nothing else. That costs you the built-in apps and any over-the-air firmware updates, which is a real trade-off on a set with unpatched vulnerabilities in the pipeline.
This is a category problem
Automated Content Recognition is not unique to LG. It is standard across the major television brands, and it is why a mid-range set can be sold below what the hardware costs. What this investigation adds is measurement — packet captures and recorded audio rather than a reading of a privacy policy — on a specific, current, widely sold product line.
If you have ever wondered why the terms screen during setup is so long, this is what the length is for. We have covered similar questions on other always-on hardware, including the recording indicator loophole Meta closed on its Ray-Ban glasses, and the picture-quality features that keep arriving on new TV firmware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do LG TVs record you when they are turned off?
Researchers testing retail LG OLED sets in September 2026 reported that a television captured clear microphone audio while its screen appeared to be off in standby mode. With the network cable removed the set stored the audio locally and uploaded it once the connection returned. LG has not publicly responded to the finding, and the testing covered specific OLED models rather than every LG television ever sold.
What is Live Plus on an LG TV?
Live Plus is LG's Automated Content Recognition system. It samples the audio and video on screen, turns it into digital fingerprints and logs what you watch across every input, including games consoles and connected players rather than just the built-in apps. It is enabled by default, and the data supports LG's advertising business.
How do I turn off data collection on an LG smart TV?
Press the gear button on the remote, select All Settings, then Support, then Privacy and Terms, then User Agreements. That screen lets you review and withdraw the consents you accepted during setup, including the viewing-information agreement that covers Live Plus. The television needs an internet connection and the correct country setting for the list to load, so change the settings before you disconnect it.
Should I disconnect my LG TV from the internet?
That is what the researchers recommended, paired with an external streaming stick or box so the panel works purely as a display. The trade-off is losing the built-in apps and, more importantly, firmware updates, which matters because the same team says it has reported remote code execution vulnerabilities in webOS through responsible disclosure.
Is this only an LG problem?
No. Automated Content Recognition and default-on data collection are standard across the major television brands, and advertising revenue is part of why smart TVs are priced the way they are. What is specific here is the measurement: packet captures and recorded audio from current retail LG OLED hardware, including the G5, rather than an interpretation of a privacy policy.
