Fix Tracker
A dated record of which community fixes still work on which TV platform, every claim rated and traced to an archived source — and changed the day a firmware update closes a door.
01 Before the detail
If your TV runs Google TV, Android TV or Fire OS, you can strip out most of its ads and tracking yourself, without root, and undo it with one script. On a Samsung, an LG or a Fire TV stick running Amazon’s new Vega OS you cannot. The most you can do there is switch off ACR in the settings and block the TV’s servers on your network.
That split is what the October 2026 wave of AI-assisted TV cleanups ran into. Two open-source projects, cleanyourtv and dumbtv, went from one owner’s afternoon to hundreds of tested models in a week, and their own notes are frank about where they stop. This page keeps a dated record of which fix works on which platform, rated and traced to its source, and changes a cell when a firmware update closes a door.
The tracking is real. Automatic content recognition (ACR) fingerprints whatever is on the screen, including what comes in over HDMI, and researchers measured Samsung and LG sets doing it. The same study has the good news: switching ACR off in the settings stopped the traffic.
What companies, courts and lawmakers have put on the record — 10 things, all on the record
02 The answer
Find your TV’s platform in the left column: that row is everything an owner can do with it today. Google TV and Fire OS are open because both let their owners use the Android debug bridge. Samsung, LG and Vega OS keep it closed, which leaves the settings menu and the network.
Not sure which platform you have? The name is on the home screen or under Settings, About. Fire TV Edition sets sold under Onida, Toshiba and JVC run Fire OS, not their maker’s own software.
2 of 5 platforms let an owner disable the ads and preloaded apps without root: Google TV / Android TV and Fire TV (Fire OS). On Fire TV (Vega OS), LG webOS and Samsung Tizen, the column that still works on all 3 is “Block at the network”.
| Platform | Switch off ACR | Disable the ads and preloaded appswithout root | Replace the home screen | Block at the networkPi-hole or a filtering DNS | Root the TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google TV / Android TVSony, TCL, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Acer, Vu, Hisense | PartlyThe switch is the maker’s, and so is its name | Works | PartlyTwo packages, or it crash-loops | Works | UnknownNot needed |
| Fire TV (Fire OS)Fire TV sticks; Fire TV Edition TVs from Onida, Toshiba, JVC | WorksOne of the ~50 packages dumbtv disables | Works | Works | Works | UnknownNot needed |
| Fire TV (Vega OS)Fire TV Stick 4K Select | Unknown | Blocked | Blocked | Works | Unknown |
| LG webOSLG | WorksLive Plus | BlockedBuilt-in apps can only be hidden | Blocked | Works | Patched |
| Samsung TizenSamsung | WorksViewing Information Services | Blocked | Blocked | Works | Unknown |
| Works today on | 4 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 0 of 5 |
03 In date order
IMC 2024 studyStrong
webOS HomebrewStrong
AmazonConfirmed
Government of IndiaConfirmed
Texas Attorney GeneralConfirmed
LG ElectronicsConfirmed
Texas Attorney GeneralConfirmed
Malwarebytes3 claims, rated separately
Samsung’s ACR switch, LG’s ACR switch, Google TV’s ACR varies by maker
Kentucky General AssemblyConfirmed
Texas Attorney GeneralConfirmed
Tom’s GuideStrong
TechCrunchWeak
cleanyourtvStrong
GoogleConfirmed
Kentucky’s ACR consent law takes effect
Confirmed
Dates are when each source was published or, for a living project page, the day we read it. Tap any entry to jump to the claim and its source.
04 Sourced, dated, archived
Every claim here is someone else’s: a project’s notes, a study, a regulator or a company. Strongest evidence comes first within each topic. Open any claim for what it means and the source’s exact words, stored when this page was written so they survive an edited README.
29 claims, by how sure anyone can be
One owner’s before-and-after post on 17 October 2026 became cleanyourtv: tested debloat lists for 170+ TV models from 200+ contributors within four days.
cleanyourtvCommunity
The date and the story are confirmed by TechCrunch’s report two days later; the view and model counts are the project’s own. The README is a living page, so the date here is the day we read it, and the archived copy holds that version.
On 17 October 2026 I posted a before and after of my parents' TV, cleaned up by Claude Code over Wi-Fi. It reached 7.4M views, people started doing the same to their own TVs, and their replies turned into the lists here: 170+ TV models from 200+ contributors in four days.
It switches off the maker’s telemetry, ad services, content rows and preloaded apps without deleting anything, so one script puts it all back.
cleanyourtvCommunity
It uses the Android debug bridge that every Android TV and Google TV ships with, switched on from the TV’s own developer options; no root is involved. TechCrunch independently describes it the same way: no root, and a way back to factory state.
The manufacturer's telemetry, ad services, content rows and preloaded junk, with pm disable-user. Nothing is uninstalled, so a restore script can undo every step.
dumbtv replaces the Fire TV home screen and disables about 50 Amazon packages, including ads, sponsored rows, ACR and telemetry, without deleting any.
dumbtvCommunity
This works on Fire OS, the Android-based system on every Fire TV stick before the 4K Select and on Fire TV Edition televisions. TechCrunch reports it was tested end to end on a Fire TV Edition set.
Replaces the home screen with dumbtv home: your apps, your inputs and a clock. [...] About 50 disabled: ads, sponsored content, ACR, telemetry, crash and usage uploads, experiments, update nags. Disabled, never deleted.
On Google TV, switching off the stock home screen alone can leave the TV in a crash loop; a second setup package has to go with it.
dumbtvCommunity
This is why a hand-typed tutorial can brick a Google TV that a tested script would not. A separate October 2026 guide by Cretezy gives the same two-package sequence, which is why this rates strong.
can crash-loop system_server if you disable launcherx alone. Disable the whole setupwraith package too.
A Samsung set to boot straight into HDMI, with no network connected, sends nothing at all.
dumbtvCommunity
Strong because nothing can leave a TV that has no connection, which every privacy guide we read agrees on. It works on any brand: use a streaming stick for apps and never give the TV your Wi-Fi.
A Samsung that boots straight into HDMI with no network attached is a completely private TV.
A few thousand owners repeated the cleanup within two days, on Xiaomi, TCL, Sony, Fire TV and LG sets, by the developer’s account to TechCrunch.
TechCrunchReport
Weak because it is one person’s estimate that nobody can audit, not because it is unlikely. TechCrunch reports it as his words, not as its own count.
I put the prompt on GitHub, tweeted the before and after, and a few thousand people did the same to their own TVs over the next two days. Xiaomi, TCL, Sony, Fire TV, LG, a projector or two
Fire TV Edition televisions, including Onida, Toshiba, JVC and Croma sets, open the same owner debug shell as a Fire TV stick.
dumbtvCommunity
One project’s notes, so weak by our rule. Its device table lists an Onida 43-inch Fire TV Edition set as tested by the developer himself, which is the India-market model this rests on.
Fire TV Edition televisions (Onida, Toshiba, JVC, Insignia, Croma — an integrated panel, not a stick) expose the same ADB shell and behave the same way.
One owner said they bricked an Android TV with an AI agent, and another got stuck halfway through a Fire TV.
TechCrunchReport
Two anecdotes, not a failure rate. Nobody has measured how often these cleanups go wrong, and the projects’ restore scripts only help if the TV still boots.
One person even said they bricked their Android TV using Claude, and another got stuck halfway through hacking their Fire TV.
Pointing the TV’s DNS at a blocker such as Pi-hole stops it reaching the maker’s ad and telemetry servers, including on the closed platforms.
dumbtvCommunity
Weak because it rests on one project, and because DNS blocking is only as good as its list of server names. We have not measured how much a blocked TV still sends, so this page does not claim a number.
Blocking at the network works on every one of them, including the closed ones: point the TV's DNS at a blocker such as Pi-hole or AdGuard Home and it stops reaching the vendor's ad and telemetry servers.
Researchers measured Samsung and LG TVs sending ACR data even when used as a plain screen for another device. Opting out stopped the traffic.
IMC 2024 studyReport
This is the most useful finding for an owner: the ACR switch in the settings does what it says, and plugging in a set-top box or a laptop does not hide what is on screen. The study covered Samsung and LG only.
Our results show that ACR works even when the smart TV is used as a "dumb" external display, opting-out stops network traffic to ACR servers, and there are differences in how ACR works across the UK and the US.
Samsung’s own documentation says its ACR captures frames every 500 ms; the researchers saw Samsung send fingerprints about once a minute, and LG every 15 seconds.
IMC 2024 studyReport
The “every 500 milliseconds” figure in the Texas lawsuits comes from Samsung’s own documentation. Captured is not the same as sent: the TV batches frames into fingerprints before uploading them.
Samsung’s official documentation [...] mentions that its ACR captures the frames every 500ms, suggesting that Samsung batches the captures as well and sends the fingerprints every minute.
Samsung calls its ACR Viewing Information Services. It sits under Settings, Support, Terms & Privacy, Privacy Choices on recent models.
MalwarebytesReport
Samsung’s own spokesperson used the same name, Viewing Information Services (VIS), when the Texas settlement was announced. Menu paths move between model years; the name is what to search the settings for.
Turn Viewing Information Services off (this is Samsung’s ACR).
LG’s ACR layer is called Live Plus, under All Settings, General, System, Additional Settings.
MalwarebytesReport
Other privacy guides give the same name. The IMC study found that opting out on LG stopped the ACR traffic, so this one switch is worth more than every other LG setting together.
Set Live Plus to off (this is LG’s ACR layer).
On Google TV the ACR comes from the TV maker, not Google. Many Sony sets use Samba Interactive TV, switched off under Settings, All Settings, Privacy.
MalwarebytesReport
Weak because it rests on one guide and says “many”, not all. On other Google TV brands the name differs, so the cell for Google TV reads “partly”: there is a switch, but you have to find your maker’s.
Many Sony TVs use Samba Interactive TV as the ACR component.
Google’s own help page says its stripped-down Apps only mode still shows sponsored content and teasers.
GoogleOn the record
This is why the community fixes replace the home screen instead of using the setting Google offers: the setting is designed to keep the ads. The help page is undated, so the date here is the day we read it.
In Apps only mode, you don't get personalized recommendations on your home screen. You’ll find a list of installed apps that you can open to find something to watch. You'll also find sponsored content and teasers for popular movies and shows.
A webOS update pinned a Microsoft Copilot shortcut that owners could not delete. LG said it would let them delete it, without giving a date.
LG ElectronicsOn the record
Confirmed as LG’s promise, not as a delivered fix. We have not found LG confirming that the delete option has shipped; until we do, the icon can only be hidden.
Microsoft Copilot is provided as a shortcut icon to enhance customer accessibility and convenience. [...] LG Electronics respects consumer choice and will take steps to allow users to delete the shortcut icon if they wish.
Samsung’s developer mode can remove store apps, but not the system packages where the ads, ACR and telemetry run.
dumbtvCommunity
cleanyourtv’s own Samsung notes reach the same conclusion from two different TVs (a 2021 and a 2024 model): no shell, no way to take over the Home button. On a Samsung the useful work is the settings menu and the network.
sdb uninstall does remove store and carrier apps. It cannot touch the org.tizen.* / com.samsung.* packages, which is where the ads, ACR and telemetry live — and removing the wrong one takes the home screen with it.
webOS Developer Mode installs and runs your own apps, and nothing more: no shell, no switching off preinstalled apps, no new home screen.
dumbtvCommunity
Rated strong because cleanyourtv, the other big project, also lists LG only as a launcher port, not a cleanup. Everything beyond this needs root, and root is closed on current LG firmware.
That is all it does: no shell, no disabling preinstalled apps, no home-screen change, no DNS.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Select, launched in India on 29 October 2025, runs Amazon’s Vega OS instead of the Android-based Fire OS.
AmazonOn the record
Vega is not Android, so none of the Fire TV cleanup tools apply to it. The same release says the 4K Plus and the Fire TV Cube stay on sale alongside it.
Fire TV Stick 4K Select is powered by Amazon's new Vega Operating System (OS) that delivers fast performance and a smooth user interface.
Amazon’s product page says only Appstore apps can be downloaded on the 4K Select. Sideloading needs a registered developer account and a USB cable.
AmazonOn the record
The words in quotation marks are Amazon’s. AFTVnews then found that sideloaded apps on Vega show a generic icon and appear to be disabled when not in use, which makes even the developer route impractical.
Amazon was very specific with its wording when it stated that “only apps from the Amazon Appstore are available for download” on the Fire TV Stick 4K Select’s product page
By August 2025, the latest firmware for almost every LG TV on webOS 5 to 9 had patched the last public root.
webOS HomebrewCommunity
The same README says 2025 models were open only on their factory firmware, and the webOS Homebrew site records RootMyTV as patched in 2022. If your LG has ever taken an update, assume there is no root.
As of 2025-08-24, the latest firmware for essentially all LG models running webOS 5, 6, 7, and 9 is patched.
A firmware update can re-enable what a cleanup switched off. dumbtv blocks Fire OS updates while its filter runs for exactly that reason.
dumbtvCommunity
cleanyourtv ships a separate check for “what a firmware update undid”, so both projects plan for it. A cleaned TV is a maintenance job, not a one-off, and blocking updates also blocks security fixes.
Fire OS updates are blocked while the DNS filter runs, since an update would switch a lot of this back on.
Vega OS stops owners from installing third-party home screens and ad blockers. Amazon’s Fire TV head cites malware and piracy.
Tom’s GuideReport
Strong because AFTVnews found the same lockdown independently. The irony Tom’s Guide points at is Amazon calling Vega more private while it removes the tools owners use to stop the tracking.
That's a somewhat ironic statement since Vega OS blocks the ability to sideload third-party adblockers, in addition to launchers.
On 15 December 2025 Texas sued Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense and TCL, alleging their ACR records what Texans watch without consent.
Texas Attorney GeneralOn the record
Confirmed that the suits were filed; what they allege is the state’s case, not a finding. No court has ruled any of the five liable.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against five major television companies for spying on Texans by secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes. The five major corporations being sued are as follows: Sony, Samsung, LG, as well as Hisense and TCL Technology Group Corporation (“TCL”), which are both based in China.
Two days later a Texas court ordered Hisense to stop collecting ACR data from Texans while the case continues.
Texas Attorney GeneralOn the record
A temporary order, not a judgment. It covers Texans only, but it is the first time a court has stopped a TV maker’s ACR.
Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a first-of-its-kind temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against Hisense—a major smart television company based in China—stopping the corporation from collecting personal data through Automated Content Recognition (“ACR”) technology.
On 26 February 2026 Samsung agreed to stop collecting ACR data from Texans without express consent, and to rewrite its consent screens.
Texas Attorney GeneralOn the record
The agreement binds Samsung for Texas consumers only. Samsung told Privacy Daily its TVs “do not spy on consumers”; the release mentions no payment.
As part of the agreement, Samsung must halt any collection or processing of ACR viewing data without obtaining Texas consumers’ express consent.
On 11 May 2026 LG agreed to show a pop-up explaining its viewing-data collection, with a simple way to opt out.
Texas Attorney GeneralOn the record
The same release says the cases against Sony, Hisense and TCL remain ongoing. Like Samsung’s, it mentions no payment.
The agreement requires LG to update its smart TVs to display a pop-up disclosure that explains how viewing data may be collected and used. Additionally, this disclosure will now be included on LG’s website. Users will be given a clear and simple way to opt out of any viewing data collection agreements.
Kentucky’s House Bill 692, signed on 13 April 2026, bars collecting ACR data without a consumer’s consent from 1 July 2027.
Kentucky General AssemblyOn the record
A statute rather than a settlement, so it binds every TV maker selling into Kentucky, not just the ones Texas sued. Like everything in this section, it changes nothing for a TV in India.
amends KRS 367.3617 to prohibit controllers from collecting automatic content recognition data without a consumer's consent; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2027.
India’s data-protection rules, notified on 14 November 2025, phase in over 18 months and require clear, standalone consent notices.
Government of IndiaOn the record
The government’s summary does not mention TVs or ACR, and no TV maker has said how it will apply the rules to viewing data in India. Until it does, the switches in the settings are the only consent an Indian owner gets.
The DPDP Rules provide an 18-month phased compliance timeline, allowing organisations time for smooth transition. They also require Data Fiduciaries to issue standalone, clear and simple consent notices that transparently explain the specific purpose for which personal data is being collected and used.
05 My call
If your TV is a Samsung or an LG, the fix that works is outside it: a small computer running Pi-hole on your home network. It blocks ad and tracking servers for every device in the house, survives the TV’s updates and factory resets, and needs no developer mode. A Raspberry Pi 3B+ is enough. The Pi 4 is only worth it if the same box will do other jobs.
The cheapest fix costs nothing: never give the TV your Wi-Fi, and plug in a streaming stick for apps. If that stick is a Fire TV, avoid the 4K Select, which runs Vega OS and cannot be cleaned up. And if you are buying a TV and want the option to clean it yourself, buy one that runs Google TV, and look for your model on cleanyourtv’s tested list first.
Recorded daily by Nopturnia. Amazon shows no history; this is our own record of the same listing.
Recorded daily by Nopturnia. Amazon shows no history; this is our own record of the same listing.
Recorded daily by Nopturnia, one missed day. Amazon shows no history; this is our own record of the same listing.
Unchanged at ₹5,399 since 12 Oct 2026
The cheapest way to run Pi-hole for every TV in the house: Pi-hole asks for 512 MB of RAM and this has 1 GB. Check the listing for whether a power supply and microSD card are in the box.
₹490 dearer than the ₹11,999 it held every day from 12 Oct 2026 to 23 Oct 2026
More than Pi-hole needs. Worth it only if the same box will also run a VPN or a media server.
₹1,000 dearer than the ₹30,999 it held every day from 5 Aug 2026 to 8 Aug 2026
Runs Google TV, the platform the no-root tools cover. This exact model is not on cleanyourtv’s tested list yet, so its discovery step would be building the list from scratch.
Prices checked 26 Oct 2026 against Amazon.in; the strip under each card is live. Daily price record kept since 25 Jul 2026.
06 On the record, before it happens
The claims above are what other people said. These are what I say, kept separate on purpose: repeating someone else’s claim and then scoring myself on it would be marking my own homework. Each call is falsifiable, has a date, and names what it will be scored against. I will write down what happened next to what I said, including the ones I get wrong.
On 31 January 2027, cleanyourtv’s tested list will carry between 40 and 80 entries marked as India-market TVs or projectors. It carried 23 on 26 October 2026.
A Nopturnia estimate, logged on 26 October 2026, from our own count of the list: 23 entries name India as their market, nine days after the project started. The list grew fastest in its first four days, while the post that started it was spreading, and contributions slow once a wave passes, so I do not expect that pace to hold. India has a long tail of Google TV brands already on the list once or twice (Acer, Vu, Thomson, Lumio, Karbonn, OnePlus), and each new model needs one owner to send a list in, which argues for slow growth rather than a stall. Below 40 means the wave died with the news cycle; above 80 means it became a habit. Either way this call misses.
Scored against: Entries on the tested-models list in cleanyourtv’s README (github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv) whose description names India, counted the same way on 31 January 2027, with a Wayback Machine copy taken that day.
At least one of Sony, Hisense or TCL announces a settlement with the Texas Attorney General over ACR between 26 October 2026 and 31 March 2027.
A Nopturnia estimate, logged on 26 October 2026. Samsung settled 73 days after it was sued and LG 147 days after. Both deals required consent screens, and neither press release mentions a payment, so settling costs a TV maker a pop-up. Hisense has been barred from collecting ACR data from Texans since 17 December 2025, the costliest position of the three, which is the strongest reason to expect a deal. Against that, 168 days have passed since LG settled with no third deal, and Hisense and TCL face the China-access allegations the Korean makers did not. If none of the three settles by 31 March 2027, this call misses.
Scored against: A press release from the Office of the Texas Attorney General, or a court filing, announcing a settlement or agreed judgment with Sony, Hisense or TCL over ACR, dated on or before 31 March 2027.
On 30 June 2027, an owner can still switch off the stock Google TV home screen with pm disable-user from the TV’s own developer options, without root, on current Google TV firmware.
A Nopturnia estimate, logged on 26 October 2026. Amazon has shown a platform can close this door: Vega OS allows Appstore apps only. Google’s position is different. Its TVs are made by many brands, the community notes record the same owner shell on Sony, TCL, Philips, Hisense, Xiaomi and onn sets, and Google’s own help page already admits that its Apps only home screen shows sponsored content, so the ads are not something it is hiding. I expect Google to make the stock home screen harder to replace before it removes owner debugging outright, and not within eight months. If cleanyourtv’s README or issue tracker reports, on or before 30 June 2027, that current Google TV firmware no longer lets an owner disable the stock home screen this way, this call misses.
Scored against: cleanyourtv’s README and issue tracker on 30 June 2027 (archived that day): the call misses if either reports that a Google TV firmware update stops pm disable-user from disabling the stock launcher on current builds.
07 Our method
Weak, on this page, usually means a project describing its own work: often right, but nobody else has checked it yet. A cell in the fix grid is only as strong as the claim it links to, and hovering over it says which claim that is.
No claim goes on this page without a source that was opened and read, its exact words, the date and an archived copy. Project READMEs change every day, so for those the date is the day we read them and the archived copy is the version we quote.
We do not test TVs ourselves for this page. Where the grid says a fix works, a project that has done the work says so and its notes are linked. When a firmware update breaks a fix, the cell changes and the changelog says when.
08 Questions
09 Kept honest
Tracker opened with 29 claims, each traced to a dated and archived source: 10 on the record, 14 strong and 5 weak. A five-platform fix grid (25 cells, each linked to its claim), three calls (India-market TVs on the community lists by 31 January 2027, a third Texas settlement by 31 March 2027, Google TV still open to owners on 30 June 2027), and Amazon.in price records for two Raspberry Pi boards and a Google TV set. #
Nopturnia earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what the page says about any fix, the ratings, or which hardware it recommends.
