LG has issued a public rebuttal after Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs and independent security researchers this week raised concerns about how its smart TVs log and upload user data. The company says the coverage created "misconceptions", insisting its TVs "do not continuously record or transmit users' conversations" and that wake-word detection for its voice assistant is processed entirely on-device rather than in the cloud. The dispute matters because it touches on wider unease about smart TVs' data-collection practices and how transparently manufacturers disclose them.

LG maintains that features such as Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), voice recognition and interest-based advertising are optional and switched off by default, and that ACR identifies content via audio fingerprinting using the TV's internal processor rather than a microphone, without capturing screenshots, screen recordings or audio recordings. However, its use of the word "continuously" leaves room for ambiguity, since Gamers Nexus had shown an LG TV retaining detailed logs of ambient conversations well beyond when the assistant should have stopped listening. LG's statement also stopped short of addressing broader questions about the total volume of data collected, who it is shared with, the risk of misuse by bad actors, and criticism that its privacy settings are presented in a misleading way.