Samsung TV

Smart TV Reviewed October 2026

These are reasonable defaults - not the only right choices. If your current settings work for you, there is no pressure to change anything.

What the default settings do

Samsung’s Tizen smart TVs can identify what is on screen using automatic content recognition (ACR), which Samsung calls Viewing Information Services. It recognizes content from any source, including streaming apps, a cable box, a game console or an antenna, and builds a viewing history linked to the TV’s identifiers and your IP address. Samsung says ACR is optional and only runs if you agreed to it during setup or turned it on later. In practice the setup screens make it easy to accept everything at once.

Samsung TVs also show ads based on your viewing and app activity, and many models support voice control. On TVs with a built-in far-field microphone, Voice Wake-up lets the TV listen for a wake word without you pressing a button. Linking the TV to SmartThings connects it to Samsung’s smart home app and the data that comes with it.

The Texas lawsuit and settlement

On 15 December 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense and TCL, claiming their TVs used ACR without properly telling owners or getting real consent. Samsung settled on 26 February 2026. It agreed to stop collecting ACR data from Texans without their express consent and to update its TVs with clear consent screens. The settlement only covers Texas, but it is a sign of how the setup screens may change. LG settled on similar terms in May 2026.

A reasonable privacy baseline

These settings are in Settings → All Settings. Samsung moves menus between model years, so if an item is not where we say, look for the Privacy Choices entry, which on many newer TVs sits on the home screen’s left-hand menu just below Settings.

Viewing Information Services (ACR)

Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Terms & Privacy (or Privacy Choices) → Viewing Information Services → Off

Stops Samsung from collecting what you watch from now on. On older TVs the same items are under Settings → Support → Terms & Privacy (sometimes with a further Privacy Choices step).

Advertising

Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Terms & Privacy (or Privacy Choices) → Interest-Based Advertisements → Off

Ads in Samsung's apps and on the home screen are no longer based on your viewing and app activity. You will see the same number of ads.

Voice and microphone

Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Voice → Voice Wake-up → Off

With Voice Wake-up off, the TV no longer listens for a wake word through its built-in microphone. You can still use voice by pressing the microphone button on the remote. This only appears on TVs with a far-field microphone.

Microphone switch on the TV itself → Off (models with a built-in microphone)

Samsung says the switch is usually at the bottom center or bottom right of the TV's frame. When it is off, a message appears on screen and voice features that use the TV's microphone stop working. It is the most direct way to make sure the TV is not listening.

Trade-offs

With Viewing Information Services off, Samsung’s recommendations based on what you watch, including on cable and antenna, stop working.
Turning off interest-based ads makes ads less relevant, not fewer.
With Voice Wake-up or the microphone switch off, you lose hands-free voice control. If you switch off the TV’s microphone, check whether voice through the remote still works on your model.
Menu names differ by year and region, so you may need to look in both Terms & Privacy and Privacy Choices.

Who should not change these settings

If you like Samsung’s home screen recommendations, Viewing Information Services is part of what powers them.
If you rely on hands-free voice control, for example for accessibility, keep Voice Wake-up on and turn off ACR and ad personalization instead.
If your household uses SmartThings to control the TV with other smart home devices, keep the TV linked.
If you prefer ads that match your interests, there is no need to change the advertising setting.
If you are setting up a new Samsung TV, read each consent screen instead of accepting all at once. That first choice is the one most likely to stick.

Wondering how other TVs compare? See Is my smart TV watching me? and our LG TV guide.