While there are claims that Facebook, Google and many other platforms track and spy on the user and their searches, one would never have thought that the same could happen while in the comfort of one’s home. Smart TVs are a piece of pride and joy in our living rooms and bedrooms. Hence, when one relaxes and chills for a weekend of binge watching, they do not need any tracking or content spying that is happening without their knowledge. With the below mentioned tips and tricks, one can easily stop smart TV content tracking. So, mentioned below are ways to disable the settings in the many different smart TVs that are available in the market today.
Smart TV:
Let’s begin this blog with the many popular smart TVs that are easily available in the market.
- Opt out of the viewing information from Samsung Smart TVs:
Opt out of the viewing information from Samsung Smart TVs:
Those who have a smart TV from Samsung, you would need to go to the home menu > click the settings icon >Go to support>Click on Terms and Policies. Once you are there, just turn off the viewing information services and the Internet-based advertising options. If you have an older version of the television, you might refer to the feature as “SyncPlus and Marketing.”
- Turn off the LivePlus feature in LG smart TVs:
Turn off the LivePlus feature in LG smart TVs:
The LG smart TVs offer great cinematic representation with great functionality. However, you might never know when the TV might be tracking the channels that you watch and in order to shut this feature down you would need to follow these steps: Go to the Settings option present on your remote and then click on All settings>Go to general> Click LivePlus and turn the feature off. If you want to, you can also turn off the personalized advertising option which is present in the All Settings>General>About this TV>User Agreements from the General page.
- Re-run the initial setup in Sony Smart TVs:
Re-run the initial setup in Sony Smart TVs:
The Sony Smart TVs that you get today operate on Android TV operating system with the help of which you can watch TV shows, movies, and much more at just click. However, its settings cannot be easily accessed, and you might have to re-run the setup wizard of the TV to change the setup completely. In order to take this step, go to the Home Screen>Find Settings> Click on initial setup. Keep clicking through the wizard and avoid changing the network settings until you see Samba “Interactive TV” user agreements. Once you are there just disable the tracking setting.
- Disable viewing data in Vizio:
Disable viewing data in Vizio:
Go to the System settings> Click on reset and admin and you would find the viewing data option right there. Once this is visible, highlight the viewing data option and press the right arrow that you see to turn off the settings. The older versions of the Vizio smart TV refer to this feature as “Smart Interactivity” so do not get confused if you see this option.
- Disable Information from other inputs in TVs that use Roku:
Disable Information from other inputs in TVs that use Roku:
Several top brands such as TCL, Sharp, and Philips, among others use Roku for the built-in smart software. If you have such TVs installed in your home, disable the Automatic Content Recognition setting by going to the home screen heading and go to Settings>Privacy>Smart TV experience and disable “Use Information for TV inputs.” If you wish to limit the tracking of advertisements, go to Settings> Click on Privacy> Click Advertising and turn off the “Limit Ad Tracking” option.
Internet TV:
With the new trend of watching Internet TV, many today do not realize that, their content is being tracked even there.
- Limit the Ad Tracking on Apple TV:
Limit the Ad Tracking on Apple TV:
Go to the Settings> Click on privacy>Choose Limit Ad Tracking option and turn the feature on. If you have an older version of the device, you would find this feature in General settings where you would need to disable the “send data to Apple” option.
There you have it folks! The above mentioned are steps with which one can easily disable and change the settings in their smart TV so that nothing on their screen can be tracked or used for data mining purposes. So, stop smart TV content tracking today. Happy viewing!
