It's so f'ing simple. JUST DON'T CONNECT YOUR TV TO YOUR WIFI. Get your streams from a separate device.
this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2026
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Privacy
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Wont be enough. Soon theyre gonna start mesh networking with neighboring devices over bluetooth.
Yeah, that's what i did, but i had to dig through menus turning shit off because I kept getting pop-ups telling me it needed to connect to the Internet.
not enough, they might be using your neighbours' tvs as access points. Physically remove the wireless module
Anyone know when this started becoming ominous? I'm sure every TV in the sixties didn't have a microphone on their remotes; I am sure pretty much each one being released today has.
I have a 4k LG TV from around 2020 and it doesn't have a microphone.
Are you sure? We have two OLEDs (a CX from 2020 and a C1 from 2021), and both have these remotes with microphones:
Yeah no, lol
It should, mine is 2017 and had options to listen for spoken commands
That seems unusual. I have a HD LG so ancient it has 3D and it has a microphone. It has always been disabled in software which isn't really disabled at all. A microphone free modern tv thing is a unicorn.
I have a cheapo Samsung 4K TV from 2019 and it does have one in the mic for sure, not sure about the TV itself. I don't let the TV connect to the internet though. I did initially because convenience, but now I have an Android TV thingy. Which itself is not perfect, but I don't live alone, having an HTPC with a mouse and keyboard would be a hassle. Aaaand upon writing this I realized HDMI-CEC is a thing and googled it and Plasma Bigscreen can support it and... shit I need a miniPC now
I bought a Steam Machine for this exact use case, and it's been pretty sweet. Especially since it can do 4k video decoding. I have it set up to start a Jellyfin server and client when I launch it through steam. Also VacuumTube has been a life saver.
If it works for you, that's great, for me it sits exactly where it makes zero sense to get. My PC is slightly more powerful so for gaming, it would be inferior. But it's too expensive just for a HTPC. Something either much more powerful (that could also run local LLMs), or significantly cheaper, would make more sense for me. I'm now eyeing used miniPCs, but I'll have to see if some of the cheap ones can handle 4k decoding.
Idk dude, sounds like you have unrealistic expectations for a $700 mini gaming box. (Not including RAMmageddon)
tossed mine in the trash when i learned it wanted a bluetooth connection to the tv
10 years ago OP would've been labeled a schizo, now we just accept there's microphones in everything
PRISM leak was 13 years ago if you want to feel old yet, but then that was just a revelation about how prevelant mass surveillance is, it was Vault 7 in 2017 that detailed how built-in microphones in Smart TVs are used for spying, so that part would indeed be less than 10 years ago
i hate living in a cyberpunk dystopia
The least they could do is give us the damn body augmentations already. We got all the shitty parts and none of the cool tech.
They won't even let me transition, let alone give most people general healthcare. Insurance would never cover augmentations
You can have botox and lip fillers and you'll be happy about it.
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What? Because I have to Open my control, I understand almost nothing about technology. Don't tell me it has a chip that controls ever
FYI most modern TVs have a second microphone actually in the display that’s actually used for the nefarious tracking and listening for assistant wake words to save remote battery life
Or just buy a cheap 3rd party off brand universal remote. Dont have to use the one that comes with the TV
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