LG sells you a Gram 17 as a privacy-respecting laptop. This is the same LG that takes screenshots of your smart TV every 15 seconds and sells the data to advertisers through a company called Alphonso. A peer-reviewed study confirmed it. Texas AG Ken Paxton sued LG in December 2025 for misrepresenting data practices. When a company's TV division is in court for surveillance, trusting their laptop division requires a leap of faith. LG says you can opt out. On their smart TVs, "opting out" requires 27 clicks across four separate toggles buried in nested menus. Twenty-seven clicks to say no. LG designed a system where giving up privacy is the default and protecting it is an obstacle course. When a company builds 27-click opt-outs into one product line, ask what the opt-out looks like in their laptops — if one exists at all.
What they claim: LG markets the Gram as a privacy-respecting productivity laptop.
What we found: LG's TV division takes screenshots every 15 seconds via ACR using Alphonso advertising technology. A peer-reviewed study at ACM IMC 2024 confirmed this. Texas AG Ken Paxton sued LG in December 2025 for misrepresenting data collection.
What they claim: LG Gram comes with a clean Windows experience with minimal pre-installed software.
What we found: LG still pre-installs Update+, Control Center, and Smart Assistant running background services and sending telemetry. LG's broader ecosystem demonstrates using utility software as data collection vectors across TVs, fridges, and washers.
What they claim: LG says users can opt out of data collection.
What we found: Disabling ACR on LG TVs requires navigating through 27 clicks across four separate agreement toggles buried in nested menus. LG's pattern of dark patterns raises concerns about similar approaches in their PC ecosystem.