Consumers across Australia are expressing outrage over changes LG Electronics has rolled out, accusing the company of forcing intrusive data-collection practices onto customers who buy its TVs and household appliances from retailers such as Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, The Good Guys and JB Hi-Fi.
The controversy escalated after LG pushed a recent webOS software update that, according to users, removed their ability to record television programs while the TV is switched off.
Owners claim this function was a key feature of their LG sets and accuse the company of quietly stripping it away.
WebOS can also be used by LG to turn up the volume on LG Advertising on their TV’s.
The update comes at a time when LG is aggressively expanding its data-driven advertising operation in Australia in an effort to generate millions selling the data they capturer.
The company has been promoting LG Ad Solutions — its advertising and data-sales unit — as a superior source of viewer analytics to traditional free-to-air broadcasters.
Critics argue this “superior data” is often collected without customers clearly understanding that their viewing habits across live TV, streaming services and even external devices are being harvested and monetised.
Customer Backlash Builds
One customer in Australia recently reported his experience to Trust Pilot after purchasing a new LG C4 TV, which he claims was still under warranty.
Wanting to stay up to date, he initiated the latest webOS update — only to discover that the update disabled the ability to record programs while the TV was off.
“That’s the whole point of recording,” the customer said. “There’s no use recording while the TV is on.”
When he contacted LG for support, he described the experience as a “nightmare,” citing an unhelpful WhatsApp-based AI support system and contradictory information from LG’s Philippines call centre.
He said that after multiple attempts, LG finally admitted the change was intentional and claimed it related to “free-to-air rights issues.” The customer called the explanation “nonsense,” pointing out that recordings still work so long as the TV remains on.
“The whole experience was a nightmare,” he said. “It wasn’t resolved, I was given misinformation or outright lies, and it left me hating LG with a passion.”
LG Expands Data-Driven Advertising Business
Earlier this year, LG strengthened its Australian advertising arm, LG Ad Solutions, with the appointment of Alex Blundell Jones as Commercial Director. His role includes growing the operation responsible for selling the vast amounts of data collected from LG devices.
LG Ad Solutions also appointed Marj Hetherton and Adelina Moon sales directors for its Australia team and Hetherton was a sales director and Moon account director ANZ, Agency & Partnerships.
Blundell Jones claims that his job is to lead the regional strategy and growth of LG Ad Solutions in Australia who are the selling operation of the data.
LG leverages a network of data-collection systems embedded deeply into its TVs and appliances:
webOS
LG’s Linux-based smart TV operating system, also used in some appliances, acts as a major data-capture hub. It records viewing habits, app usage, browsing history and potentially any activity performed through connected services.
LG ThinQ Platform & App
The ThinQ app and smart-home platform gather usage data from LG appliances including washing machines, dryers and air conditioners.
LG Ad Solutions (formerly Alphonso)
Acquired in 2021, this division specialises in machine learning, big-data analytics and connected-TV ad targeting. It commercialises behavioural data collected from LG products.
Athom Homey Platform
LG’s acquisition of Athom — maker of the Homey smart-home hub — signals its intention to widen its data-collection footprint. Although not yet launched in Australia, Homey integration would allow LG to collect data even from third-party devices.
Together, these platforms support LG’s strategic shift from a pure hardware manufacturer to a recurring-revenue platform business built around advertising, content and subscription-based services.
Opaque Tracking & Controversial Permission Requirements
LG’s tracking systems rely heavily on automatic content recognition (ACR) technology — branded on many LG TVs as “Live Plus.” ACR can identify what a user is watching on any input, including streaming apps, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes, and transmit that data for profiling and ad-targeting.
Consumer advocates argue that customers often unknowingly grant permission by accepting lengthy user-agreements required to operate their TV. Tests conducted by ChannelNews and SmartHouse found that declining these terms can render the TV effectively unusable.
Australia’s Consumer Data & Digital Rights Centre (CDD) has raised concerns that LG’s software forces acceptance of data-collection policies as a condition for enabling core TV functions. While LG publishes privacy statements and operates a “Privacy Centre,” critics say the ability to fully opt out of tracking is unclear, deeply hidden or technically incomplete.
Independent experts note that disabling ACR tracking requires navigating multiple menu layers, and even then, may not entirely prevent data capture.
Security Vulnerabilities Add to Concerns
Cybersecurity researchers have also highlighted security flaws in LG’s webOS TVs. One recently documented vulnerability allowed attackers on the same local network to bypass authentication and compromise certain TV models.
While not directly tied to the data-collection debate, the flaw raises additional concerns about the volume of sensitive data stored on LG’s platforms and how secure that information truly is.
