The TV Viewing Tracker Has a Different Name at Each Brand

To stop a smart TV logging what you watch, turn off its automatic content recognition (ACR) setting. Each maker calls it something different. On Samsung it is Viewing Information Services, on LG the Viewing Information agreement, on a Roku TV Smart TV Experience, and on Vizio Viewing Data. The steps for each are below.

Do it even if everything you watch comes through a streaming stick or a cable box. LG says its ACR can work on HDMI-connected devices, and Roku says its version covers connected devices, including cable and satellite boxes. Using a separate box instead of the TV’s own apps does not keep your viewing away from LG or Roku while the setting is on.

The Verge’s TV reviewer wrote on 19 September, after a Gamers Nexus video about LG sets, that TV makers are tracking what you watch unless you opt out. What the makers themselves say is narrower and differs by brand. It is set out brand by brand below.

The setting, by brand

Brand	What it is called	Where
Samsung	Viewing Information Services	Settings (Samsung gives no exact path)
LG	Viewing Information agreement; Live Plus	Support › Privacy & Terms; General › System › Additional Settings
Roku TV	Smart TV Experience	Settings › Privacy › Smart TV Experience
Vizio	Viewing Data	All Settings › Privacy and Legal
Fire TV	Privacy Settings	Settings › Preferences › Privacy Settings
Apple TV 4K	Use Play History	Settings › Apps › TV

Menus move between model years. LG’s user guide says the items available “differ depending upon model”, so if a path does not match your TV, look for the setting’s name instead.

LG

LG says ACR is off by default and runs only if you accepted the Viewing Information Agreement. Its statement says you can withdraw that agreement or turn ACR off in settings, and that data collection stops when you do.

1. Press the settings button on the remote, then go to Support › Privacy & Terms › User Agreements. LG’s 2025 webOS guide puts the agreements here. Withdraw the Viewing Information agreement. If you do not want ads based on it either, withdraw LG’s separate Interest-Based Cross Device Advertising agreement too.
2. Go to General › System › Additional Settings and set Live Plus to Off. LG’s guide describes Live Plus as extras “related to the content you’re watching”.
3. In Support › Privacy & Terms › Advertisement, turn Limit AD Tracking on.
4. To clear what has already been collected, the same menu has Delete My Personal Information › Delete Viewing Information. It needs a network connection.

One detail from LG’s statement cuts against the usual advice. LG’s ACR works on Live TV, HDMI inputs and LG Channels, and LG says it does not operate inside third-party streaming apps such as Netflix or YouTube. On an LG set with the agreement accepted, a box plugged into HDMI is in scope and the TV’s own Netflix app is not.

Samsung

Samsung’s support page says ACR “only runs if you opted in” to Viewing Information Services when you set up the TV, and that you can opt out at any time in the Settings menu. It does not give a menu path, and we could not find a current one on any Samsung page, so we are not printing one. In Settings, look for Viewing Information Services and turn it off.

The privacy notice for the service says what it can identify: the channels, programs, games, shopping services and apps you use. Samsung adds that it does not record the content on your screen. A second setting, Interest-Based Advertisements, decides whether ads are picked for you. Samsung says viewing data goes into ad targeting only when both are on, so turning off Viewing Information Services keeps it out even if you leave ads alone.

Roku TV

Roku’s own page gives the path: Settings › Privacy › Smart TV Experience, where the switch is labelled Use info from TV inputs. Turn it off. The steps are Roku’s, so they apply to any TV running Roku’s software, whatever name is on the bezel.

Two limits, both in Roku’s words. Data collected while the setting was on “will be retained by Roku and may still be shared with third parties”. And the setting does not affect what Roku collects from its streaming channels. For that, Roku points to Personalize Ads in the same settings menu. Its separate Limit third-party ad tracking option asks channel providers to stop using the advertising ID, which Roku says it “cannot guarantee” they will respect. Roku also says a factory reset removes that preference.

Vizio

On a Vizio TV running VIZIO OS:

1. Press MENU or the gear button on the remote.
2. Go to All Settings › Privacy and Legal.
3. Highlight Viewing Data and press the right arrow to set it to Off.

Vizio says that turning Viewing Data off deletes the logs already collected from its database. That is the opposite of Roku, which keeps them. Vizio also says it collects no viewing data in Canada, or from a TV that is not connected to the internet.

Fire TV and Google TV

Amazon does not use the term ACR on its Fire TV privacy page. Its controls are all in Settings › Preferences › Privacy Settings: turn off Device Usage Data and Collect App Usage Data, and use Interest-based Ads to tell apps not to build an ad profile from the advertising ID. On smart TVs built around Fire TV, the same menu is where Amazon lets you stop sending it information on what you watch through an antenna. On some models you can also change these settings from your Amazon account at amazon.com/mycd.

On Google TV sets, Google’s help page covers the advertising ID: Settings › Privacy › Ads › Delete advertising ID. Google says this stops apps using that ID for personalised ads, though they may still target ads on other information. Google’s page does not mention any setting for identifying what is on screen.

Apple TV 4K

Apple’s box is a different case. The viewing history Apple documents is the Apple TV app’s own: in Settings › Apps › TV, turn off Use Play History, which drives its recommendations and Continue Watching. Clear Play History in the same place removes what the app has recorded across your devices. The Verge’s reviewer suggests going further: take the TV off the network entirely and watch through a separate box. He uses an Apple TV 4K, which he reports does not use ACR.

If you move to an external box, turn the TV’s own setting off anyway. On LG and Roku sets, the TV can still recognise what a connected box plays while the setting is on.

The brands we left out

We found no first-party page giving a viewing-data switch for Hisense, for TCL’s Google TV sets or for current Sony TVs, so we have not printed steps for them. Two things we did find:

• TCL’s Google TV settings guide lists an item called Automatic Content Recognition under picture settings. TCL describes it only as switching to a matching picture mode when FILMMAKER MODE or IMAX content is detected. TCL does not say whether it is also a viewing-data switch, so do not rely on it as one.
• Sony’s Samba Interactive TV is listed by Sony for older Bravia models, with KDL, XBR and KD model numbers. On the Android TV sets among them, Sony gives the path as Settings › System Preferences › Samba Interactive TV (or Interactive TV Settings) › Disable.

What none of these switches does

They stop the TV identifying what is on screen. They do not stop Netflix, YouTube or any other app recording what you watch inside it. Roku says channel operators “may collect information about your use of their channels”, and each app has its own privacy settings.

If you are choosing a new set, the privacy menus are worth a look alongside the specs that actually separate price tiers. Our TV shortlist is built from review scores and does not rank privacy. And if you connect a box and your streams start stalling, a clean speed test does not rule out the network.