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Samsung Smart TV (ACR)

Samsung Electronics · Smart TV

Staff Reviewed — a person at DeSpy reviewed this rating.

7.5Surveillance
Index
Policy — what its policy permitsF
Evidence — what research provesF

Uses Automatic Content Recognition capturing screen frames roughly every 500ms even over HDMI input, feeding Samsung Ads; Texas sued Samsung in Dec 2025 for 'mass surveillance,' settling in Feb 2026.

Why this rating

Samsung's ACR captures screen frames roughly every 500ms even over HDMI input feeding Samsung Ads, and Texas sued Samsung in December 2025 for 'mass surveillance,' settling in February 2026 with new disclosure and opt-out requirements.

What it is

Manufacturer
Samsung Electronics
Category
Smart TV
Model years
2015-present
Market status
Current
Companion app
SmartThings

The evidence 6

Independent research, regulatory action, lawsuits and journalism about how this device handles personal data — the "what actually happens" axis. Each links to its source.

  1. S5Court Rules Docket — TX v. Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, TCL (2025-12-15)
    Lawsuit · CourtRules.app · 2025-12-15

    Docket record of the Texas Attorney General's consolidated lawsuit against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense and TCL over smart TV ACR data practices.

    Why it matters here: Court docket record for the Texas v. Samsung and other TV makers consolidated suit.

  2. S5Texas Sues Biggest TV Makers, Alleging Smart TVs Spy on Users Without Consent
    Lawsuit · Ars Technica · 2025-12-01

    Texas AG sued Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL and Hisense in December 2025 alleging their smart TVs conduct automatic content recognition amounting to mass surveillance without adequate consent.

    Why it matters here: Texas AG lawsuit directly names Samsung's ACR-based smart TV tracking.

  3. S5AG Paxton Sues 5 Major TV Manufacturers for Allegedly Spying on Texans
    Lawsuit · The Epoch Times · 2025-12-01

    Additional coverage confirming the December 2025 Texas lawsuit against five smart-TV manufacturers over ACR-based tracking.

    Why it matters here: Additional coverage confirms Samsung is a named defendant in the Texas smart-TV lawsuit.

  4. S3Samsung TVs Stop Spying on Viewers in Texas — How to Disable ACR Anywhere
    Journalism · Malwarebytes Labs · 2026-03-01

    Reports that Samsung settled the Texas lawsuit in February 2026 and rolled out an easier way to disable ACR tracking for all users.

    Why it matters here: Reports Samsung settled with Texas and rolled out an easier ACR opt-out.

  5. S3Samsung Agrees to Be More Upfront About the Data Its TVs Collect
    Journalism · PCMag · 2026-02-01

    Coverage of Samsung's settlement terms requiring clearer ACR disclosures following the Texas lawsuit.

    Why it matters here: Confirms settlement terms requiring clearer Samsung ACR disclosures.

  6. S2Consumer Reports: How to Turn Off Smart TV Snooping Features
    Ngo review · Consumer Reports · 2023-01-01

    Consumer Reports guide documenting which major smart TV brands track viewing via ACR and how to disable it.

    Why it matters here: Consumer Reports guide documents Samsung's ACR tracking and opt-out process.

Where your data goes

Third parties this device's data has flowed to, and on what basis. An ended tag means the flow has verifiably stopped — it stays listed for the record.

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Think something here is wrong?

Evidence and research improve when people push back. Tell us what to re-check — a misattributed domain, an outdated classification, a claim about your own app — and a human will review it. Responses can take up to 30 days.

If you leave an email it is encrypted at rest and opened only to answer you — never shared, never used for anything else. It is erased 30 days after we resolve this (or 180 days if it is still open) without you asking, and you can erase it sooner at any time; either way your correction stays, anonymously. Leave it blank and your request is fully anonymous from the start (we store no IP address either way).

Descriptive, cited, not legal advice; ratings are versioned and corrections create a new version. Data from the IoT Info Grabber DB research project, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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