I asked every TV manufacturer 17 questions about how they spy on you

A survey of 11 TV and streaming-device companies asks 17 direct questions about what their products collect, store, transmit, and share. It focuses on concerns such as microphones listening at home, voice recordings being retained, and automatic content recognition (ACR) tracking viewing for advertising, audience measurement, or recommendations. Amazon, Apple, Google, LG, Roku, Samsung, and TCL provided responses; Hisense did not reply, while Panasonic, Sony, and Vizio declined to answer some questions. The responses vary in detail and often sidestep simple yes-or-no answers.

Most companies say voice features require a wake word, button press, or opt-in, and some describe local processing or physical microphone controls. But their practices differ: Amazon says invoked Alexa requests are sent to its cloud; Google says voice recordings or transcripts are saved only when a separate account setting is enabled; Roku may retain voice commands, with an opt-out; and Samsung says commands and transcripts can be stored on secure servers. LG says certain voice-interaction information may be stored locally. Separately, ACR can monitor viewing, and users can generally disable it even after setup. That choice may not stop all data transfers: a Northeastern University study found Vizio continued sending data after opt-out, while Samsung and Roku traffic was reduced but not eliminated. The central issue is that privacy controls and company explanations do not always make the scope of collection clear.