Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs Say LG OLED TVs Record Audio in Standby and Scan Home Networks

Independent testing led by Gamers Nexus with Level1Techs and other security researchers alleges that certain LG OLED televisions can record audio in standby, scan home networks for devices unrelated to television use, and route data to LG’s advertising infrastructure.

“A new investigation from Gamers Nexus, conducted alongside Level1Techs”

CyberSecurityNews

In a 135-minute video breakdown, Gamers Nexus founder Steve Burke said the TV "crawled our entire network and found dozens of unrelated devices, including smartwatches and phones of our staff who didn’t even know we were working on this."

CyberSecurityNews

The investigation also says the built-in microphones continued recording and storing clear audio while the screen was dark and the television appeared to be off, and that when the TV was disconnected from the network, audio and text files continued to accumulate locally before uploading once connectivity returned.

Researchers further describe that the TVs collected information about nearby Wi-Fi networks, including signal strength and geolocation data, and that some of it was transmitted to LG Ad Solutions.

LG has not provided a public response by the time of publication, while the researchers’ recommendation is to disconnect smart televisions from the home internet entirely and use an external streaming device instead.

The reporting frames the data collection as tied to LG’s advertising operations, with the investigation describing that every sweep feeds LG Ad Solutions and that LG’s advertising division claims reach to "363 million secondary addressable devices in the US alone."

TechRadar also highlights LG’s own marketing language, quoting an LG pitch that "we know who's in the LG household. TWe know which devices are there."

Gadget Review

In addition to scanning and audio capture, the Gadget Review account says webOS carries documented remote code execution vulnerabilities, including "CVE-2024-1885 in LG Signage webOS" and "CVE-2018-17173 in LG SuperSign EZ CMS," alongside newly discovered zero-days in responsible disclosure.

The same account says an attacker on a network could potentially "Access stored recordings," and it describes the risk scenario as combining demonstrated data-collection with the presence of RCE vulnerabilities.

Ynetnews adds that ynet requested comment from LG but had not received a response by publication time, while it also says the researchers’ requests for comment had gone unanswered.

Across the coverage, the practical mitigation described by researchers is to disconnect LG TVs from the internet and route streaming through external devices such as Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV, because the television’s own software is described as reaching the network when connected.

“the investigation suggests that this isn't enough to stop TV from collecting data locally”

CyberSecurityNews

CyberSecurityNews says the investigation shows ACR continuing to operate even when an LG panel is used as a passive HDMI monitor, and it notes that the behavior could theoretically extend to displays deployed in hospitals, hotel rooms, and corporate boardrooms.C

The Gadget Review account says offline isn’t full protection and that disconnecting Ethernet doesn’t necessarily stop recording because the TV reportedly buffers recordings locally and uploads them the moment connectivity returns.

In the broader stakes section, Ynetnews says LG says it has sold about 216 million smart televisions globally, while its advertising division says it has access to more than 360 million connected devices in the United States alone.

The reporting also points to the possibility of regulatory scrutiny, with Ynetnews describing that in the European Union strict data protection rules limit excessive collection and generally require clearly defined consent, potentially exposing companies to regulatory scrutiny if collection violates those requirements.