Roku provides the simplest way to stream entertainment to your TV. On your terms. With thousands of available channels to choose from.
Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.
Clarification: after a bit of research it seems the olfactory section pertains to CCPA California law, many places have olfactory in the privacy policy because it is required by the law. I can’t believe we reached a point where we have to put olfactory in the privacy policy, but then again it won’t be long before Smell-O-Vision becomes reality.
“we may collect information about your activities, like the apps you install or access (including usage statistics such as what apps you access, the time you access them, and how long you interact with them), and information about the videos and other content you select and stream within these streaming services.
When you use a smart TV with our operating system (e.g., a Roku TV model) with the Smart TV Experience enabled, we use Automatic Content Recognition (“ACR”) technology to collect information about what you watch or access (e.g., the programs, video games, ads and channels you viewed or accessed, and the date, time and duration of the viewing or access) via your TV’s antenna, cable box, game console, media player or other devices connected to your TV, and we may also collect additional information about the videos and other content you stream. The data collected while the Smart TV Experience is enabled may vary depending on your TV’s model and when you enabled the Smart TV Experience. For information specific to your TV, please see the Privacy > Smart TV Experience section of your TV’s settings menu. If you disable this setting on your TV, Roku will not use ACR on that TV, but Roku still receives information about your interactions and streaming activities on that TV through other methods.
If you use the Roku Media Player to view your video or photo files or listen to your music files, Roku will collect data about the files viewed within the Roku Media Player, such as codecs, and other metadata of the local files you play through the Roku Media Player”
Super weird. I would assume that olfactory sensors would cost more per TV than Roku would make by collecting the data. Afaik there’s no such thing as electronic olfactory sensors per se anyway. In before labs start buying Roku TVs because they all have gas chromatography machines inside them.
Ah. I appreciate the context. Now my confusion is just shifted from Roku to California legislators. I can appreciate future proofing a law, but this seems a bit on the nose.
Also just so you are aware apparently the changes weren’t removed, but only show if you have a US ip. So US have their own privacy policy that differs from the rest of the world. The reason it was included is probably this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision.
put it on a damn VLAN with no access to the internet. maybe through a whitelisting proxy. otherwise you won’t know if it just evades your measures by using some encrypted tunnel or anything
no like i’ve been a computer nerd my whole life and went to college for computer science… and i control my own computer, unlike almost everyone else.
and at least with a pc you can control it… most people don’t
For reference, I have a Samsung S23, and I use the Smart View function that you can find if you pull down twice the top of the screen and get to the Quick Settings drawer. I think my phone and TV had to be on the same WiFi network at first for the phone to be able to find the TV, but after that I can turn WiFi off on both devices and Smart View still remembers the Roku TV.
Oddly, after screen mirroring begins and I can see my phone screen on the Roku TV, if I scroll down on the Quick Settings drawer it shows the phone’s WiFi is on, but the symbol next to my signal bars is clearly 4G LTE or 5G and not WiFi.
Works pretty well unless you have too much ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI) in which case the lag sucks and may even cease the connection. I’ve been using screen mirroring for years though and it’s great.
My friend uses roku and I found it hilariously dystopian that the screen saver is basically just an artistic side scrolling city scape with billboards that advertise shit shows and movies you can stream or pay for.
If you buy something nowadays and it connects to the Internet, it’s bad. Treat it like it’s bad. VLAN it, firewall it, force it to use your DNS only and block everything until it breaks then figure out what it actually needs.
Don’t give it internet, return it if it “needs” internet.
What you’re doing is a losing battle; once internet connected everything is normalised they’ll stop working if you block tracking and suddenly you’re the weird one.
Instead, vote with your wallet, talk with others about how annoying/bad this is and get them to vote with their wallets, too!
The new section pertains to the California Law about biometric data collection, it seems they removed it because it was applied worldwide and they didn’t want that. I used a California VPN server and the privacy policy changed for me.
I’ve heard tell of this, I’ve been wondering something. Can you change your wifi password, give it the new one for setup, and then disconnect and restore your typical password and continue to use the TV, or does it need an active connection?
Good question, I’ve heard rumors that they’ll eventually get upset and throw an impassable splash screen until you reconnect, but I’ve never seen it myself.
My workplace uses Samsung TVs. I found a trick to let it run without connecting to WiFi. On the screen where it asks you to connect to a network, just click right like you wanted to skip it and it will skip it even though it doesn’t say that’s an option. YMMV though, I can’t say if it works for all TVs.
Better yet, don’t buy a Samsung TV but this might come in handy if you happen to have one.
I’ve talked to numerous people who have modern Samsung QD OLED and Mini LED TVs and literally not a single one has ever mentioned an issue like this. I’m incredibly skeptical of your claim.
This is false. I just bought a brand-new current-model Samsung QN90D QLED TV. Like any modern device it nags you to connect to WiFi/Ethernet during the setup, but the “decline” button is not hidden and it’s completely optional. Not sure if that’s on-par with older models, but I just have it connected to my external Roku and several consoles via HDMI. Completely offline. No ads on the home screen (not that I really use it, I just switch inputs). All features are available: 4K, AI upscaling, HDR+, 144hz gaming mode, etc…
Not sure about LG. But it also depends on model as well afaik. Most Samsungs I know that were bought via Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, etc had that issue, but one of my commercial clients bought a couple and it was a non-issue, so ymmv. I typically like Sonys, but I also have a reseller account with them through my wholesaler and get them significantly cheaper than retail.
I have an LG GX and have never experienced this. I’d assume the G line and up won’t have this issue, and to my knowledge even the lower tier C models don’t have this issue. A friend of mine recently got a C3 (I think, idk what they’re up to yet, maybe 4? It’s the newest C model) and it doesn’t have this ad issue either.
I’ll be honest, the 3 times I’ve seen it were Samsungs and purchased at box stores. The rest I have no firsthand experience, but I’ve seen enough people bitching about it online.
I do indeed use linux, on an unused laptop hidden away in my tv cabinet. I’m fairly confident it’s not spying on me… but you never know. Unfortunately you are correct, most people do just use whatever is on the TV, ignorant to the accompanying issues this causes for both themselves and society at large.
It is always better to do that shit with a separate gizmo. Ideally, something computery enough that it will not betray you, or cheap enough that you can take a hammer to it when it does.
It’s a lot easier and cheaper to replace a small device (Roku, Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, Chromecast, Fire Stick, XBMC box, computer, etc) than it is your entire TV. Once you connect and update your TV, I don’t think you can choose to downgrade it later…
Sure, but what os u run?
The only open source one for home media is Kodi.
I’ve ran it for a while. But it’s a pita.
My most people that also have jobs don’t do that.
never allow your TV connect to any network but there is another comment up thread stating that some sammy tv won’t permit you to connect HDMI device until you connect tv to internet
Buy these things with a credit card. If the store refuses a return or demands a restocking fee, credit card dispute. Visa doesn’t fuck around with this stuff.
It is definitely a catch all, disclosure of this information is required by California law, that is the only reason they even put it in the policy. They seem to have accidentally released it worldwide, which is why they reverted it, now it only shows if you have a California ip.
When Roku took all four of my set-top roku devices hostage a while back with their forced Terms of Service update, I threw them all in the trash and have warned people against using them since.
Roku is a garbage ad company that will continue to use your devices against you.
We have a roku TV that has no internet connection. It did when we first got it and didn’t play as much attention to this kind if thing. It’s now a dumb TV that’ll never get internet again. We run everything through an rpi4 running osmc.
OP could have included a summary, description, or quote of what they’re referring to and criticizing. They did not.
If you don’t own a Roku device, there’s no reason to read all that. I certainly don’t want to read the full privacy policy either and then guess what OP opened a discussion about or other commenters talk about.
Also, this community is called piracy, not privacy.
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“we may collect information about your activities, like the apps you install or access (including usage statistics such as what apps you access, the time you access them, and how long you interact with them), and information about the videos and other content you select and stream within these streaming services.
When you use a smart TV with our operating system (e.g., a Roku TV model) with the Smart TV Experience enabled, we use Automatic Content Recognition (“ACR”) technology to collect information about what you watch or access (e.g., the programs, video games, ads and channels you viewed or accessed, and the date, time and duration of the viewing or access) via your TV’s antenna, cable box, game console, media player or other devices connected to your TV, and we may also collect additional information about the videos and other content you stream. The data collected while the Smart TV Experience is enabled may vary depending on your TV’s model and when you enabled the Smart TV Experience. For information specific to your TV, please see the Privacy > Smart TV Experience section of your TV’s settings menu. If you disable this setting on your TV, Roku will not use ACR on that TV, but Roku still receives information about your interactions and streaming activities on that TV through other methods.
If you use the Roku Media Player to view your video or photo files or listen to your music files, Roku will collect data about the files viewed within the Roku Media Player, such as codecs, and other metadata of the local files you play through the Roku Media Player”
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Alright. I hope they enjoy smelling my dog’s farts all day.
Maybe that’s why they removed it… 🤔
Super weird. I would assume that olfactory sensors would cost more per TV than Roku would make by collecting the data. Afaik there’s no such thing as electronic olfactory sensors per se anyway. In before labs start buying Roku TVs because they all have gas chromatography machines inside them.
It is related to the California Law, there are no sensors in the tv. The strange thing is that they reverted the policy without informing anyone.
https://www.zengrc.com/blog/what-are-the-ccpa-categories-of-personal-information/
Ah. I appreciate the context. Now my confusion is just shifted from Roku to California legislators. I can appreciate future proofing a law, but this seems a bit on the nose.
Also just so you are aware apparently the changes weren’t removed, but only show if you have a US ip. So US have their own privacy policy that differs from the rest of the world. The reason it was included is probably this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision.
This is the US policy dated January 2025: https://docs.roku.com/api/v1/published/userprivacypolicy/en/US/text
The rest of the world it is dated 12 December.
Literally every smartTV OS does this. Roku isn’t special. They all collect image metadata, at least by default.
Any recommended firewall block lists (or allow lists) for Roku?
put it on a damn VLAN with no access to the internet. maybe through a whitelisting proxy. otherwise you won’t know if it just evades your measures by using some encrypted tunnel or anything
my roku TV felt my wrath because it dared to show me a banner ad while I was in the middle of a game.
i promptly disabled internet on it completely. now it’s a dumb TV. and my life is much better.
I want to recommend that you change your WiFi password. Even though you disabled the internet, it may still phone home.
oh it’s a relief that we have recently changed it. the bastard roku is completely locked out.
Better yet, tear the wifi antenna off the board, can’t connect to wifi without any antenna, no matter how hard you try.
i’d rather masturbate with a cheese grater than own a “smart” tv….
We’ll have fun all TV’s are smart TVs.
That isn’t true
Samsung QBR line is an example of a dumb tv
i don’t own a tv… just a computer
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yeah but i actually control my computer
And more lies we like to tell ourselves
no like i’ve been a computer nerd my whole life and went to college for computer science… and i control my own computer, unlike almost everyone else.
and at least with a pc you can control it… most people don’t
Yep disabled Internet and I cast video from my phone to the TV so I can control what appears on the screen.
Using screen mirroring or does it still access the home network?
Just screen mirroring iirc.
For reference, I have a Samsung S23, and I use the Smart View function that you can find if you pull down twice the top of the screen and get to the Quick Settings drawer. I think my phone and TV had to be on the same WiFi network at first for the phone to be able to find the TV, but after that I can turn WiFi off on both devices and Smart View still remembers the Roku TV.
Oddly, after screen mirroring begins and I can see my phone screen on the Roku TV, if I scroll down on the Quick Settings drawer it shows the phone’s WiFi is on, but the symbol next to my signal bars is clearly 4G LTE or 5G and not WiFi.
Works pretty well unless you have too much ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI) in which case the lag sucks and may even cease the connection. I’ve been using screen mirroring for years though and it’s great.
Good luck!
Yeah it probably becomes WiFi Direct once both find the other. In my experience though the quality is pretty bad, might depend on the devices
Roku is, first and foremost, an advertising platform.
My friend uses roku and I found it hilariously dystopian that the screen saver is basically just an artistic side scrolling city scape with billboards that advertise shit shows and movies you can stream or pay for.
Plex/Jellyfin is the only way to go.
If you buy something nowadays and it connects to the Internet, it’s bad. Treat it like it’s bad. VLAN it, firewall it, force it to use your DNS only and block everything until it breaks then figure out what it actually needs.
It needs tracking to work.
Also, I hardly see my non tech relatives following your advice 🤣
Don’t give it internet, return it if it “needs” internet.
What you’re doing is a losing battle; once internet connected everything is normalised they’ll stop working if you block tracking and suddenly you’re the weird one.
Instead, vote with your wallet, talk with others about how annoying/bad this is and get them to vote with their wallets, too!
They pushed these changes on Christmas Day.
Knowing no one would read it, since they’re with family just trying to watch a lovely Christmas movie. Bastards.
Edit: autocorrect
The new section pertains to the California Law about biometric data collection, it seems they removed it because it was applied worldwide and they didn’t want that. I used a California VPN server and the privacy policy changed for me.
Never give your TV the wifi password.
The problem is that some TVs (cough Samsung) won’t allow you to even use the thing as a monitor until you allow it online.
I’ve heard tell of this, I’ve been wondering something. Can you change your wifi password, give it the new one for setup, and then disconnect and restore your typical password and continue to use the TV, or does it need an active connection?
Good question, I’ve heard rumors that they’ll eventually get upset and throw an impassable splash screen until you reconnect, but I’ve never seen it myself.
You can return it.
That would have been an instant return for me.
My workplace uses Samsung TVs. I found a trick to let it run without connecting to WiFi. On the screen where it asks you to connect to a network, just click right like you wanted to skip it and it will skip it even though it doesn’t say that’s an option. YMMV though, I can’t say if it works for all TVs.
Better yet, don’t buy a Samsung TV but this might come in handy if you happen to have one.
I’ve talked to numerous people who have modern Samsung QD OLED and Mini LED TVs and literally not a single one has ever mentioned an issue like this. I’m incredibly skeptical of your claim.
This is false. I just bought a brand-new current-model Samsung QN90D QLED TV. Like any modern device it nags you to connect to WiFi/Ethernet during the setup, but the “decline” button is not hidden and it’s completely optional. Not sure if that’s on-par with older models, but I just have it connected to my external Roku and several consoles via HDMI. Completely offline. No ads on the home screen (not that I really use it, I just switch inputs). All features are available: 4K, AI upscaling, HDR+, 144hz gaming mode, etc…
Damn so this already started?
Is LG also doing this?
I think current advise is Sony but they are a lot more expensive for the same panel.
Not sure about LG. But it also depends on model as well afaik. Most Samsungs I know that were bought via Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, etc had that issue, but one of my commercial clients bought a couple and it was a non-issue, so ymmv. I typically like Sonys, but I also have a reseller account with them through my wholesaler and get them significantly cheaper than retail.
I have an LG GX and have never experienced this. I’d assume the G line and up won’t have this issue, and to my knowledge even the lower tier C models don’t have this issue. A friend of mine recently got a C3 (I think, idk what they’re up to yet, maybe 4? It’s the newest C model) and it doesn’t have this ad issue either.
I’ll be honest, the 3 times I’ve seen it were Samsungs and purchased at box stores. The rest I have no firsthand experience, but I’ve seen enough people bitching about it online.
We bought a LG QED 80" 4k at Costco. Not once did I enter a wifi, hasn’t asked me at all 6 months later.
Okkk. So you just don’t use Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, paramount, NFL, plex, youtube etc?
Did you know you can connect an external device to your television and get Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, paramount, NFL, plex, youtube etc.
But ofc I do. So my question is - which device are u connecting?
Unless it’s open source and called Kodi or you are connecting some Linux device - they all gonna be spying on u - that’s my point.
A rasburry pi 4.
Just use a hdmi input?
From what device?
They all spy on u.
Unless u are using Linux, but majority of people just use whatever is installed on tv
I do indeed use linux, on an unused laptop hidden away in my tv cabinet. I’m fairly confident it’s not spying on me… but you never know. Unfortunately you are correct, most people do just use whatever is on the TV, ignorant to the accompanying issues this causes for both themselves and society at large.
Eh I want to control it with my automation. But it can’t connect to the wan. Have firewall rules blocking it.
It is always better to do that shit with a separate gizmo. Ideally, something computery enough that it will not betray you, or cheap enough that you can take a hammer to it when it does.
I don’t connect my Roku TV to the internet, and always use external devi e via HDMI.
Ok. Which device u connect?
Another device that collects the same shit probably 😂😥
It’s a lot easier and cheaper to replace a small device (Roku, Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, Chromecast, Fire Stick, XBMC box, computer, etc) than it is your entire TV. Once you connect and update your TV, I don’t think you can choose to downgrade it later…
I don’t get the logic or what your point is.
not confirmed but i have no doubt gaming consoles do this too
There’s a reason why they’re so cheap compared to the hardware contained within them.
That’s just because they sell them at a loss, and the games at a massive profit. This is widely known.
I mean the list is pretty small. Unless they install Kodi - everything else is compromised.
My Roku media player, obviously…
Laptop, or a mini PC
Sure, but what os u run? The only open source one for home media is Kodi.
I’ve ran it for a while. But it’s a pita.
My most people that also have jobs don’t do that.
I run Arch on both my PC and Laptop. I self host a few containers to stream media from. Either use web front end, or native apps.
I both have a job, and maintain all of this. For fun.
Ya I wanted so bad to like Kodi but no matter what I do it crashes at least a few times daily. Constant audio sync problems and lockups as well.
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Every single SmartTV OS does this fyi.
Common tactic is to refuse it wifi connection but looks like they caught on to this too.
“They caught on”.
I mean - u don’t use any apps? Netflix, plex, Hulu, Disney, apple tv?
I prefer my console to spy on me
How so? What do you mean?
never allow your TV connect to any network but there is another comment up thread stating that some sammy tv won’t permit you to connect HDMI device until you connect tv to internet
So return it if you bought a TV like that.
Buy these things with a credit card. If the store refuses a return or demands a restocking fee, credit card dispute. Visa doesn’t fuck around with this stuff.
I’ve talked to many people who have modern samsung qd oleds and I’ve literally never heard that once. I’m pressing x to doubt
That comment is incorrect, at least for current model. Source: Samsung TV is not connected to the internet.
The moose is tightening.
Probably a catch-all for their next generation of Roku devices they’re developing.
It is definitely a catch all, disclosure of this information is required by California law, that is the only reason they even put it in the policy. They seem to have accidentally released it worldwide, which is why they reverted it, now it only shows if you have a California ip.
When Roku took all four of my set-top roku devices hostage a while back with their forced Terms of Service update, I threw them all in the trash and have warned people against using them since.
Roku is a garbage ad company that will continue to use your devices against you.
We have a roku TV that has no internet connection. It did when we first got it and didn’t play as much attention to this kind if thing. It’s now a dumb TV that’ll never get internet again. We run everything through an rpi4 running osmc.
I ain’t reading all that
And you’re someone who cares enough about privacy to subscribe to this community.
Which is why the only actual viable solution is legislation and privacy protection laws.
OP could have included a summary, description, or quote of what they’re referring to and criticizing. They did not.
If you don’t own a Roku device, there’s no reason to read all that. I certainly don’t want to read the full privacy policy either and then guess what OP opened a discussion about or other commenters talk about.
Also, this community is called piracy, not privacy.
You think your Roku wouldn’t snitch on you?
but also because reading the policy doesn’t help much when there are no options (brands) that are acceptable