People are using AI tools to remove ads and tracking from smart TVs

In short: Some people are using AI assistants to strip ads, extra apps, and tracking features out of their smart TVs.

What's going on

Developers and hobbyists are sharing step by step ways to make smart TVs feel more like “dumb” TVs again. The goal is simple, show your apps and your HDMI inputs, and little else. People say they are tired of slow menus, sponsored ads on the home screen, and TV software that watches what they play.

Two projects getting attention are “dumbtv” and “cleanyourtv,” both shared on GitHub, a site where people post code and instructions. These tools focus on Android TV and Google TV, and in some cases Fire TV editions, across brands like Sony, TCL, Philips, Hisense, and Xiaomi. “Cleanyourtv” says it can remove unwanted preinstalled apps over Wi-Fi and replace the home screen with a simpler one.

TechCrunch reports that newer AI “agents” (AI helpers that can follow multi step instructions, like a very fast assistant) are making these TV cleanups easier for more people. In one example, a developer said he gave an AI tool the TV model number, then used it to find the TV on the home network and remove dozens of unwanted software packages. Another user said the AI walked him through removing ads and speeding up the TV’s interface.

What to watch

There are risks. These projects are still works in progress, and some people say their AI tool refused to help or made mistakes. A few users reported breaking their TV software.

If these “make it dumb” tweaks spread, it could also hurt the smart TV ad business. Many TVs use Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR, which tries to identify what you are watching using things like screen snapshots or audio matching (like Shazam for whatever is on your TV).

Source: TechCrunch AI