How to turn off ACR on your TV

1. Press Home on the remote, then open Menu › Settings › All Settings.⁴
2. Open General & Privacy › Terms & Privacy.On some earlier models this is called Terms and Policy.⁴
3. Untick Viewing Information Services.Untick Interest-Based Advertising too. Consumer Reports says you'll still get ads, but they'll be less targeted to your viewing habits.⁴

Samsung says ACR only runs if you agreed to Viewing Information Services, at setup or later, and that you can opt out at any time.³

1. Press Settings on the remote and go to All Settings › Support › Privacy & Terms.Consumer Reports gives this path for new LG sets. LG's menus change from year to year.⁴
2. Open User Agreements and turn off Viewing Information.⁴
3. Turn off Live Plus in Settings.LG's agreement says this is how you disable its ACR software. It names the toggle but not its menu path.⁵

A Do Not Sell request on its own doesn't stop ACR: LG's agreement says Live Plus stays active until you also turn off its toggle.⁵

1. Press Home on the Roku remote and choose Settings from the left-hand menu.¹
2. Select Privacy › Smart TV Experience.¹
3. Highlight Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and press OK to untick it.¹In Consumer Reports' 2025 tests this box was labelled Use Info from TV Inputs.⁴
4. If Content Viewing Disclosure is ticked, untick it too.⁶

Roku says ACR is off out of the box, and that data collected while ACR was on is kept.¹

1. With the remote, open All Settings › Privacy & Legal.On older Vizio TVs: All Settings › Admin & Privacy.²
2. Set Viewing Data to off.²

Vizio says turning Viewing Data off deletes its logs of past viewing data for that TV and applies only to the TV you change.²

1. Open Settings › Preferences › Privacy Settings.⁷
2. Turn off Device Usage Data and Collect App Usage Data.⁷
3. Turn off Interest-based Ads.⁷
4. On a smart TV with Fire TV built in, also turn off the over-the-air viewing data option in the same menu.Amazon describes it as what you watch through an antenna connected to the TV.⁷ On a 2025 Hisense set, Consumer Reports saw it combined with app usage, as Collect App and Over-the-Air Usage Data.⁴

On certain models you can manage the same settings at amazon.com/mycd, under Privacy Settings, Amazon Devices Privacy.⁷

1. From the home screen, select Settings at the top.⁸
2. Select Privacy › Ads › Delete advertising ID.Google says to press the D-pad twice to focus on Delete advertising ID, then press Select.⁸
3. Then turn off the TV maker's own viewing setting: see Sony, Hisense or TCL.

Google says the Google TV platform itself doesn't use ACR, but TV brands that build on it may, according to Consumer Reports.⁴

1. Open Settings › All Settings.⁴
2. Find Samba Interactive TV and turn it off.On some older Sony TVs: Settings › System Preferences › Samba Interactive TV.^{4, 9}

Sony says disabling Samba Interactive TV stops it collecting your TV's viewing history.⁹

1. Turn off Enhanced Viewing Service in the TV's Settings.Hisense's notice says this optional service uses automatic content recognition, and that you can turn it off at any time in Settings. It doesn't give the menu path.¹⁰
2. If your state's privacy law gives you the right, open Settings › System › Advanced System and select Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.¹⁰

Resetting the SmartTV Identifier is not the same as turning the service off: Hisense says a reset doesn't stop relevant ads or the automatic picture and sound adjustment.¹⁰

1. From the home screen, select Settings, then Privacy › Ads, and choose Delete Advertising ID.¹¹
2. Open Settings › Privacy › User Agreements and withdraw consent for the TCL agreements you don't want, such as the User Experience Improvement Program.⁴

On some TCL Google TVs a picture setting is also called Automatic Content Recognition: TCL describes it as switching to a matching picture mode when FILMMAKER MODE or IMAX content is detected.¹²