If there’s one thing that smart TVs have proven, it’s that some tech is better off staying dumb.
Sure, it’s nice being able to have your streaming apps in one place, but the tradeoff is hellish: these TVs, by default, come stuffed with ads and track an alarming amount of personal data. Some are even shipping with AI integration, with remotes featuring a dedicated AI button — because of course they are.
Now, computer monitors may be going the same way.
Last month, LG launched a storm of controversy after its monitors were caught sneakily installing pop-up ads onto customers’ computers. This was facilitated through the monitors’ accompanying software, the LG Monitor App Installer, which installed the ads under the guise of them being driver updates. Most of the pop-ups were for McAfee’s antivirus software, which showed every time the computer booted up, as well as other advertisers.
It wasn’t just on budget monitors, either. The YouTube channel and PC hardware outlet Gamers Nexus found that even top-of-the-line LG screens, such as its UltraGear 3GX900A-B gaming monitor which costs upwards of $1,200, were showing the ads as well.
It was such a bad look that Microsoft, the king of enshittifying operating systems and itself guilty of sneaking in pesky little ads, intervened and forced LG to remove the ads.
The pop-ups are gone for now, but a new Ars Technica piece raises some of the serious privacy concerns posed by the stealthy manner in which the ads were pushed, which come as some manufacturers are trying to make “smart monitors” the next thing in internet-enabled hardware.
As the reporting notes, LG and Samsung monitors use the same operating systems that their ad-riddled smart TVs do. That means that, just like the TVs, monitors could soon use automatic content recognition technology, which regularly scans your screens to target you with ads. But whereas most are using their TVs to casually watch shows and movies, computer monitors are used for a lot more private activities, like browsing the web or working from home.
Ars asked LG and Samsung if their monitors will user ACR, but hasn’t heard back yet.
Once, you could hook up your new monitor to your computer and not worry about it spying on you. But if monitors go the way of TVs, that could be poised to change.
“When using a smart monitor, you not only have to worry about what the monitor could be tracking, but also what the OS operator (such as Google for Android-powered smart monitors) and third-party app providers (such as Netflix) can track,” Ars warned.
For your average customer who may not be particularly tech literate, that’s a lot of keep tabs on.
More on privacy: BMW Suddenly Blasts Its Cars’ Internal Screens With Aggressive Advertisements
The post Welp, They’re Officially Displaying Ads Directly on Your Monitor appeared first on Futurism.
