this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2025
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Privacy
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You don't need the tv to be online for that. The tv should (and can) just work as a monitor, which you plug into your own computer. Then the tv remains dumb and unable to spy on you.
I don't need it to be online for that, no. But it sure is a lot more comfortable to control via the remote, and cleaner without a whole damn PC nearby. Of course, you could put in a lot of effort to hide the PC far away and somehow control it from far away, but... [Connect to WiFi] is right there for most people. ๐
Yes, and that's how the author said they used it.
I mean... sure.
Then it's your computer spying on you.
I hear this advice a lot, with no nuance. Replacing your TV's built-in "smart" features by a dongle from Google, Amazon or Apple does zero things for your privacy. If you're using a set-top box THAT is doing the spying as well. If you are using streaming services from a PC media server, guess what?
Unfortunately limiting the spying is a bit more complicated than that and takes a lot more work than just not setting things up.
Admittedly, you will see less intrusive spying from your other spyware devices. TVs these days are insanely up front with their UI and especially in regions where they need authorization for some of that stuff they just keep prodding you about it. You may want to move the spyware elsewhere just for convenience. Just be aware of what those are actually doing if you have no other tools to block it.