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ZDNET's key takeaways
Smart TVs track viewing habits with ACR tech.
Collected data fuels billions in targeted ads.
Turning off ACR protects privacy but takes effort.
Did you know that whenever you turn on your smart TV, you invite an unseen guest to watch it with you?
These days, most popular TV models utilize automatic content recognition (ACR), a form of ad surveillance technology that gathers information about everything you watch and transmits it to a centralized database. Manufacturers then use your data to identify your viewing preferences, enabling them to deliver highly targeted ads.
Also: Your TV's USB port is seriously underutilized: 5 features you're not taking advantage of
What's the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, in 2022, advertisers spent an estimated $18.6 billion on smart TV ads, and those numbers are only going up.
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