LG monitor app ads raise new questions about smart monitor tracking
Ars Technica reports some LG monitors delivered software ads to PCs, while smart displays add TV-like privacy concerns.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
LG monitor app ads have put new attention on how displays can affect the computers connected to them. Ars Technica reported that certain LG monitors installed software through Windows Update and displayed ads on connected PCs, a separate issue from the data practices of internet-connected smart monitors.
According to Ars Technica, the LG Monitor App Installer arrived through driver updates on some PCs from at least 2024. The report said the installer showed promotions for software, including McAfee advertising, and that Microsoft made LG remove the McAfee ads.
LG told Ars Technica that the installer exists to make monitor-related software available, identify compatible models and present applications those models support. The Microsoft Store listing says the app can use all system resources and access an internet connection, according to the report.
What is the privacy difference between a conventional monitor and a smart monitor?
A conventional monitor is principally a display for a connected computer. A smart monitor, by contrast, connects to the internet and runs its own operating system and apps, allowing uses such as streaming, video calls and smart-home controls without a computer attached, Ars Technica reported.
That built-in software introduces more potential data collectors: the display maker, the operating-system provider and individual app services. Ars Technica said the privacy policies for LG, Samsung and Acer monitors state that those companies may share data collected from devices with advertisers. That does not establish that every monitor collects or shares data.
The privacy notice linked from LG Monitor App Installer's Microsoft Store page says the app and monitor applications distributed through it do not collect, use, store or share personal information, Ars Technica reported. The notice also says it would be updated if later versions added features that process personal information.
Is TV-style tracking confirmed on smart monitors?
No, not in the reporting available. Ars Technica said LG and Samsung smart monitors use the same ad-serving operating systems as their companies' smart TVs, but said it had asked both companies whether their monitors use automatic content recognition, or ACR, and had not received answers.
ACR is a technology associated with identifying content viewed on a screen. In smart-TV context, Samsung says its optional ACR feature creates unique signatures and may collect viewing history, TV identifiers and an IP address when a user enables it. Samsung says users can turn the feature off in TV settings; those statements apply to its smart TVs, not its monitors.
Academic and trade reporting describes smart-TV ACR as using audio or visual fingerprinting to identify content, including material from external connected devices, for audience measurement, ad targeting and recommendations. That background does not show ACR is operating on any smart-monitor model.
For buyers, the evidence draws a clear boundary: choosing a conventional display instead of an internet-connected smart monitor reduces exposure to the monitor-native operating system and app tracking described here. It does not prevent tracking by the computer, streaming services or other software used with the display.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.