LG Smart TVs Scan Home Networks and Record Audio in Standby Mode

A technical investigation by Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs, and independent security researchers has revealed that LG Smart TVs running webOS actively scan local Wi-Fi networks to identify connected devices. The findings indicate that these devices can map a household's private network and capture audio via microphones even when the display is turned off.

According to the investigation, which specifically tested retail OLED models such as the G5, the TVs use discovery protocols to identify smartphones and smartwatches connected to the same LAN. This network scanning is linked to LG Ad Solutions, which uses the gathered data to help advertisers build detailed household profiles for targeted advertising. Researchers demonstrated that the TVs continue these network scans and capture microphone audio while in standby mode, effectively operating as a network probe within the home.

The Privacy Landscape

Smart TVs have evolved into significant data-gathering hubs, utilizing technologies like Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and always-on microphones to monetize user behavior. LG's webOS system includes several background services designed for this purpose, which has drawn increasing scrutiny from privacy advocates and government regulators.

This latest discovery follows a May 2026 settlement between LG and Texas regulators. While that legal agreement specifically addressed informed consent regarding the collection of viewing data via ACR, the current findings highlight a persistent trust gap. Although the Texas settlement did not explicitly cover microphone behavior or network scanning, the continuation of such intrusive background activities suggests a broader tension between corporate privacy assurances and actual device behavior.

Industry Implications

The ability of a household appliance to map a private network and record audio while ostensibly powered down raises serious security concerns. By identifying every device on a network, the TV creates a digital map of a user's ecosystem, transforming a piece of entertainment hardware into a surveillance tool. For the industry, this underscores the risk of "function creep," where features intended for connectivity are repurposed for data harvesting without explicit user awareness.

What to Watch

As regulators continue to probe the intersection of IoT devices and consumer privacy, the focus is expected to shift toward the transparency of standby-mode operations. It remains to be seen if LG will update webOS to allow users to fully disable these background discovery protocols or if further regulatory action will be required to limit the scope of home network mapping.