LG TV ... updated webOS

My LG Television has just updated its software, and is inviting me to Agree to its insidious serving of averts ... not only to the TV, but also to other devices on the same network !!

So far, I have NOT agreed, and have therefore lost the television’s access to iPlayer, Netflix, etc.

This is probably not a problem, because I have an Apple TV box ... but I wonder what other people think of this development. [definitely a Tea Room topic]

For a bit of background : **LINK**

https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/3/10/22323790/lg-oled-tv-commercials-content-store

MichaelG.

All I can think, Michael, is that its absolutely par for the course in this day and age.

I'd have to wonder how technically legal it is to sell someone a device like a TV with a given set of operating characteristics (which presumably form part of the purchasing decision) and then go in and willy-nilly change those conditions on the device which the purchaser now owns.

Presuming, of course we can still "own" a TV and don't just use it under licence from the manufacturer.

Not sure I understand the " not only to the TV, but also to other devices on the same network !! "

Does that mean that it would serve up ads to my computer on the same network.

Edited By Peter Greene on 25/03/2021 00:42:21

From what I have read, Peter ... LG seems to be playing catch-up with Samsung, and between them they are making this par for the course [and perhaps pushing the boundary as far as they can]

The TV still works via the aerial and the various external inputs ... so yes, I own the TV that I purchased : it’s only the ‘free’ webOS features that I have now chosen to decline.

LG is entitled to change the terms of use, at its discretion ... But what remains of my personal privacy is too precious for me to accept the latest version.

MichaelG.

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Yes, exactly that ... Which is why I declined !!

MichaelG.

I bough a Chromecast dongle a few months back (the proper Google version) which bypasses the execrable "browser" in the LG TV which (at least in our model) is pathetically slow to load any online programme. It does mean that we need to drive the TV from different apps on our phones depending on the channel (iPlayer, All4, Prime etc) but is much faster.

Thanks for the warning! Unless the feature can be turned off, it's a good reason for not buying an LG telly, no matter how wonderful the picture is.

Interesting the problem is already bad enough for there to be add-on technology like Pi-Hole to block the abuse. Nature truly is red in tooth and claw - despite yearning for a quiet life, it's a battle, and you have to be alert.

Zut Alors!

Dave

PS Remember the car sticker 'Be Alert - Britain Needs Lerts'. How we laughed...

Interesting, I use MyTuner radio app on a Mac to receive BBC Radio 2 over the internet. This has now been blocked as the radio broadcasts now have something built into them to determine your location (by IP address ??). However my digital radio seems to work OK.

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Excellent points, Frances ... but I would just mention that the TV was purchased, at what I thought a very reasonable price, in November 2017.

When I installed it, there were hints of things to come; but these were associated with the LG ‘store’ ... to which I did not [and do not] subscribe.

The items like iPlayer were, until yesterday, accessible outwith that area

The recent software update has brought these into the LGTVplus [or some-such] realm, with its outrageous ‘privacy policy’.

I have an Apple TV box [3rd generation] which does most of what I want, very nicely ... and it connects to the TV via HDMI ... so today I will be removing various items from the LG menu bar, to put temptation out of reach.

With my background, I do tend to be more aware of the ‘weasel words’ than most

What I particularly dislike is the way that the ‘easy option’ is to Accept All ... and Joe Public, in his haste to watch something on iPlayer is all-too-likely to just ‘click through’

MichaelG.

For the common good of all paranoids ... This is a reasonable summary page :

**LINK**

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/just-got-a-new-tv-or-streamer-you-need-to-change-these-privacy-settings/

... as Peter said yesterday “par for the course in this day and age”

Suddenly, Apple’s ‘opt-in’ approach to privacy [as decried by Facebook] makes a lot of sense !!

MichaelG.

The "internet of things" where your hairbrush and rectal thermometer can talk to each other, and anyone else

and 5G makes it all wireless

I believe some time ago there was a "problem" with a certain internet connected Asian made TV that without owner consent collected ones viewing habits. I'm sure it will not be long before we all become cast members of Googlebox if a TV with camera, supposedly there so you can control it with hand gestures, is the only type you can buy. In reality anything you buy that has software and connects to any network can be "updated" even though there may be a tick box in some menu to prevent automatic updates and the updates are not always to your benefit. Network products are a money making device and the software owners, either of Apps or the Operating system will squeeze all they can until the pips squeaks.

Clive

Here is the relevant text from the ‘Interest-based Advertisement’ section, with my highlighting:

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Note that the only option is to agree, or not agree, the terms in their entirety

MichaelG.

So would the best option be to NOT accept the interest-based advertisements and just get the generic adverts instead?

Rob

Edit - apologies - I see that your earlier post states that by not accepting, you have lost access to iPlayer, etc. Please ignore me

Edited By Grindstone Cowboy on 25/03/2021 11:19:24

Hi Guys,

Isn't this what Google have done with "Android" ?

A platform designed to collect your data, phone numbers, location etc, whether you like it or not ! Yes there are warnings but if you decline them you can't run the application...

What do iplayer and Netflix have to say about these people blocking access and or profiting from the adverts linked.

BTW Philips did a TV download last week that is causing problems I think with HDMI connections but they have put their hands up to it and sorting it out. So far we've only had reports from Scotland so possibly they roll it out regionally and will have halted for the rest of the country.

I suppose they think we are all too naïve to see how their "agreements" are slanted to put all the onus and blame on the user; and too naive to see they are treating our private lives as their commodities.

And all too naïve to see that the cookie-filter on/off switches are deliberately ambiguous, so it's often not at all clear if you are blocking the tracking companies or admitting them. Block enough of their blasted "biscuits" and they block you.

I have a secondary account I rarely use now, using MS 'Outlook', and it's now neither use nor ornament, but I can't remove it. However, its eavesdropper filters can be turned on or off selectively. They are all for vague (shell?) companies with opaque names, but I looked one up once, to find it was some wretched commercial-software firm in the USA of no relevance or interest whatsoever to me. Goodness knows what it actually did - its publicity was all Pseuds' Corner twaddle conveying only its managers' illiteracy. Luckily Outlook allows you to turn them all off by one switch, though it does not retain your settings after you close it.

I can no longer view YouTube videos and even many commercial companies' web-sites now, thanks to Google putting massive barriers between them and me. Firefox still allows open access, but for much longer before Google muscles in?

I have neither TV nor so-called "smart"-phone; my desire not to own either is increasing steadily. My "wireless" is a broadcast-services receiver, and as for so-called "smart"-'speakers and remote-controlled gadgets... not ruddy likely. (Even if I could run my Harrison L5 lathe from my 3G 'phone while having my dinner!)

'

I know many people here use Linux etc, but unfortunately, though I was not born yesterday and am very alive to the Californian shysters' antics, I am stuck with Mickeysoft because I do not have sufficient IT skills and knowledge to switch. Nor be sure my e-post lists, web-site registrations, very many files and non-MS programmes like TurboCad would still work.

I forgot to ask .... did it just update its software without asking?

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I configured it to automatically download updates, and auto-tune, back in 2017 ... so I can’t complain at that.

This particular software update, though, is substantive [rather than tidy-up] and comes with a new Agreement.

The terms of the new agreement are unacceptable to me, but at least it offered me the choice.

The main reason I posted about it here was to warn people that the ‘splash screen’ message needs to be taken seriously ... This is LG preparing the ground for a “well, we did tell you, and you still accepted” defence !!

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... at this point, only the first two are highlighted, but the highlight travels down the list as you read the content

... and agreement is ‘all-or-nothing’ not ‘pick-n-choose’

MichaelG.