People use AI to strip ads and tracking from smart TVs

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 23:44 · Archive

Developers are using AI tools to remove ads, tracking and bloatware from smart TVs.

Smart TV owners are using AI tools to remove unwanted ads, tracking and bloatware from their devices. Frustrated with sponsored content, surveillance of viewing habits and sluggish performance, developers have created solutions designed to restore basic functionality.

Tools such as 'dumbtv' and 'cleanyourtv' use AI vibe coding to strip away bloatware from Android TV and Google TV devices. According to their descriptions, dumbtv removes ads, telemetry, experiments and Alexa, whilst cleanyourtv promises to replace the ad-filled home screen with a clean launcher resembling Apple TV. Both projects claim to be fully reversible and say they do not alter the TV's root directory.

One user reported simply asking an AI agent to hack their TV, after which the agent walked them through steps to remove ads, bloatware and spyware whilst speeding up the interface. Smart TVs typically use technology called automatic content recognition, which identifies what is playing on screen using screenshots and audio clips to track viewing habits, often for targeted advertising purposes.

How it is being reported

• People are using AI vibe coding to remove ads and trackers from smart TVsDevelopers are using AI vibe coding tools to remove ads, tracking and bloat from their smart TVs.TechRadar · 20 Oct, 23:30
• People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb againFed up with ads, tracking and sluggish interfaces, some smart TV owners are turning to AI agents to strip away bloatware and take back control of their TVs.TechCrunch · 19 Oct, 17:13

In this story: TechCrunch · TechRadar · dumbtv · cleanyourtv · Claude Code · Apple TV · Cretezy · Ryan Doyle

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem