--- title: People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again description: Frustrated by ads, tracking, and sluggish interfaces, smart TV owners are using AI coding agents like Claude Code to strip bloatware and reclaim control of... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again | daily.dev og:description: Frustrated by ads, tracking, and sluggish interfaces, smart TV owners are using AI coding agents like Claude Code to strip bloatware and reclaim control of... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/W4VZnkz9W.png og:image:alt: People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again 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. # People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Frustrated by ads, tracking, and sluggish interfaces, smart TV owners are using AI coding agents like Claude Code to strip bloatware and reclaim control of their devices. Projects such as 'dumbtv' and 'cleanyourtv' provide prompts and GitHub repos that let anyone point an AI agent at their TV to disable tracking, remove ads, replace launchers, and speed up performance, without needing root access. Results are mixed: some users report dramatic improvements (one disabled 25 bloat apps and shrank the launcher from 192MB to 83MB), while others hit resistance from Claude or even bricked their TVs during the process. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Can I use Claude Code to remove ads and bloatware from my smart TV? Yes, several people have used Claude Code to strip ads, tracking, and bloat apps from smart TVs by describing their TV model and asking the agent to hack it, often over Wi-Fi without needing root access. Projects like dumbtv and cleanyourtv package these prompts for Android TV, Google TV, and Fire TV devices from brands including Sony, TCL, Xiaomi, LG, and Hisense. _Anyone weighing an AI-assisted TV debloat follows these workflows and pitfalls on daily.dev._ ### What is the cleanyourtv GitHub project for Android TV? Cleanyourtv is a project that uses Claude Code over Wi-Fi to strip bloatware from Android TV or Google TV and replace the stock launcher with one resembling the Apple TV interface. Its creator built it after wanting to clean ads off his parents' TV, then shared the prompt publicly, leading thousands of people to apply it to their own TVs within two days. _People comparing TV debloat tools track projects like this one on daily.dev._ ### What are the risks of using AI to hack or debloat a smart TV? AI agents can make mistakes during the process, including disabling important system packages or bricking the device entirely. Reported issues include Claude refusing simple requests like "hack my TV" until given more complex prompts, one user bricking their Android TV, and another getting stuck halfway through modifying a Fire TV. _Developers weighing AI-driven hardware tweaks watch for failure reports like these on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I turned my smart TV into a dumb monitor, and every app got better overnight](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-my-smart-tv-into-a-dumb-monitor-and-every-app-got-better-overnight-wwlx66387) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [How to break free from smart TV ads and tracking](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-break-free-from-smart-tv-ads-and-tracking-icx0wdnuz) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [The smart TV in your living room is training AI - here's how to stop it](https://daily.dev/posts/the-smart-tv-in-your-living-room-is-training-ai---here-s-how-to-stop-it-qcjdsyvod) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents), [#claude-code](https://daily.dev/tags/claude-code), [#vibe-coding](https://daily.dev/tags/vibe-coding) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w) ```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":"People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w"},"datePublished":"2026-10-19T16:16:02.406Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T22:24:59.501Z","description":"Frustrated by ads, tracking, and sluggish interfaces, smart TV owners are using AI coding agents like Claude Code to strip bloatware and reclaim control of...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bcb37eadf2c887b74d5a38f27edbb3d8?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bcb37eadf2c887b74d5a38f27edbb3d8?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","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":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"ai-agents,claude-code,vibe-coding","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again-w4vznkz9w#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Can I use Claude Code to remove ads and bloatware from my smart TV?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, several people have used Claude Code to strip ads, tracking, and bloat apps from smart TVs by describing their TV model and asking the agent to hack it, often over Wi-Fi without needing root access. 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