--- title: I turned off this hidden Roku TV setting and reclaimed... description: Roku TVs include a hidden Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) feature that monitors everything played through connected HDMI inputs, OTA antennas, and cable... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I turned off this hidden Roku TV setting and reclaimed my privacy | daily.dev og:description: Roku TVs include a hidden Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) feature that monitors everything played through connected HDMI inputs, OTA antennas, and cable... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/D6mRhCLK2.png og:image:alt: I turned off this hidden Roku TV setting and reclaimed my privacy og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I turned off this hidden Roku TV setting and reclaimed my privacy **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Roku TVs include a hidden Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) feature that monitors everything played through connected HDMI inputs, OTA antennas, and cable boxes to build ad-targeting profiles, even for content from other streaming sticks or self-hosted media apps like Plex and Jellyfin. Disabling privacy settings on the connected external device does not stop this; ACR must be turned off directly on the Roku TV via Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience, unchecking Automatic Content Recognition and Content Viewing Disclosure, plus disabling Personalized ads under Settings > Privacy > Advertising. Roku streaming sticks (Streaming Stick HD, Ultra) don't have ACR, though they still collect some viewing data for ad personalization. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I turn off ACR tracking on my Roku TV? Go to Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience and uncheck both Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and Content Viewing Disclosure; on some models this appears as a single option called Use Info from TV Inputs. For further privacy, also go to Settings > Privacy > Advertising and uncheck Personalized ads to stop Roku from using viewing history and app usage for ad targeting. _daily.dev surfaces practical privacy guides like this for people locking down their smart home devices._ ### Does turning off content recognition on Roku streaming devices like the Streaming Stick matter? No, ACR is a feature specific to Roku-branded TVs, not external Roku streaming devices such as the Streaming Stick HD or Ultra, which don't include the ACR system. However, those devices can still collect viewing data for ad profiles, so disabling the personalized ads setting is still worthwhile even though ads will continue to display. _Readers weighing privacy trade-offs across streaming hardware follow explainers like this on daily.dev._ ### Can Roku TV still see what I watch on a connected Fire TV Stick or Apple TV? Yes, Roku TV's Automatic Content Recognition scans the entire HDMI input feed, so it fingerprints content, genres, and viewing duration even from external streaming devices like a Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, or Android TV device, regardless of the privacy settings configured on those external devices themselves. _daily.dev helps privacy-minded readers keep up with how connected devices share data across a home setup._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I almost bought a cheap TV streaming stick until I saw what it was doing on my network](https://daily.dev/posts/i-almost-bought-a-cheap-tv-streaming-stick-until-i-saw-what-it-was-doing-on-my-network-bhu4cyqk4) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Samsung TVs stop spying on viewers in Texas. Here’s how to disable ACR anywhere](https://daily.dev/posts/samsung-tvs-stop-spying-on-viewers-in-texas-here-s-how-to-disable-acr-anywhere-z1pdtnxin) · Security Boulevard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I ran a Pi-hole for a week and was genuinely disturbed by how much my TV phones home](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ran-a-pi-hole-for-a-week-and-was-genuinely-disturbed-by-how-much-my-tv-phones-home-lzzzwdq6o) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#privacy](https://daily.dev/tags/privacy) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I turned off this hidden Roku TV setting and reclaimed my privacy","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2"},"datePublished":"2026-08-19T22:00:31.142Z","dateModified":"2026-08-20T02:06:34.902Z","description":"Roku TVs include a hidden Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) feature that monitors everything played through connected HDMI inputs, OTA antennas, and cable...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ef5a028a5a9aadb173bea0f9746d8d4a?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ef5a028a5a9aadb173bea0f9746d8d4a?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"privacy","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I turned off this hidden Roku TV setting and reclaimed my privacy"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-off-this-hidden-roku-tv-setting-and-reclaimed-my-privacy-d6mrhclk2#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I turn off ACR tracking on my Roku TV?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Go to Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience and uncheck both Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and Content Viewing Disclosure; on some models this appears as a single option called Use Info from TV Inputs. 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