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Stopping Your Smart TV from Tracking What You Watch

Published October 2026 · Last verified October 2026

What ACR DoesYour TV fingerprints the screen1Samples screenMany timesa second2Matches itAgainst a bigdatabase3Builds a profileOf yourviewing4Targets adsAnd sharesthe dataIt watches the content on screen -- not you. And you can switch it off.
What ACR does — it fingerprints your screen, not you.
How to Opt OutA couple of minutes, one time1Open SettingsFind Privacyor General2Find the switchYour brand'sACR setting3Turn it offPlus limitad tracking4Decline SambaIf your TVoffers itDo it once per TV and it stays off.
The opt-out switch's name on your brand of TV.

Most smart TVs quietly recognize everything on your screen and use it to target ads and sell data. It's called ACR, and you can switch it off. Here's the setting's name on every major brand — a calm, one-time privacy tidy-up. (330) 200-8042.

Bill Davis
Bill's Home Tech · Atwater, Ohio
Want the full deep-dive?
Download the printable 29-page guide
PDF · 29 pages · plain English · no ads · made by Bill
The Feature
ACR — recognizes your screen
Samsung / LG
Viewing Info Services / Live Plus
Vizio / Roku
Viewing Data / 'Use info from TV inputs'
It Won't
Change your apps or shows

Most smart TVs quietly recognize everything on your screen and use it to target ads and sell data. It's called ACR, and you can switch it off. Here's the setting's name on every major brand — a calm, one-time privacy tidy-up. (330) 200-8042.

What's inside this guide

The printable PDF walks through 21 short chapters, in plain language. It also includes at-a-glance pictures.

  1. ! Read this first — this is a privacy tidy-up, not an emergency
  2. What this tracking actually is
  3. Why TV makers do this
  4. Turning it off on a Samsung
  5. Turning it off on an LG
  6. Turning it off on a Vizio
  7. Turning it down on Roku
  8. Fire TV and Google TV
  9. Two ways people come to this — and both are fine
  10. What turning it off does — and doesn't — do
  11. Common mistakes
  12. Your stop-the-tracking checklist
  13. A sensible way to think about it
  14. Doing it on a parent's TV
  15. Common Questions
  16. The quick recap
  17. A word about the voice remote
  18. While you're thinking about privacy
  19. A little reassurance
  20. Catching it on your next TV
  21. You don't have to do this alone

Get the printable guide

Everything above is a quick summary. The full, printable guide — the same words, laid out to read and keep by the computer — is a free PDF.

Download the printable PDF →

Last verified October 2026. Information accurate as of October 18, 2026.

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Any prices or outside products mentioned in this guide can change over time — the details here were last checked October 2026 and this page is accurate as of October 18, 2026; please confirm current pricing before you buy. See how often we review our guides →