Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

In the latest Android TV update, Google has added ‘sponsored ads‘ to Android TV. Google says that new ads sections sole purpose is to help you discover new apps and contents for your TV.

Owners of certain Android TV devices including Sony smart TVs, Nvidia Shield, and Xiaomi Mi Box 3 have noticed sponsored ads appearing on the home screen according to XDA Developers. The ads seemed to have appeared following an Android TV update.

Sony posted a new support page stating that the change is managed by Google. Even though owners of their TVs purchased displays without the ads and didn’t anticipate they’d show up, there’s no way to simply disable them – instead, Sony suggests creating a new Restricted profile that will only list the apps users opt into showing.

Google said: “Android TV is committed to optimizing and personalizing the entertainment experience at home. As we explore new opportunities to engage the user community, we’re running a pilot program to surface sponsored content on the Android TV home screen.”

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any other options to get rid of the ads than to let it run. Users on Reddit have reported that even if they attempt to disable “Android TV Core Services,” turn off auto-updates, and uninstall the latest update, the ads still seem to return after they restart their TVs.

If you remember, Samsung did something similar back in 2015 when they also inserted unwanted ads on their smart TVs because of which, Vizio had to pay $2.2 million last year for tracking viewers habits and selling it to advertisers without users consent. Vizio is still doing that today, it just has to let you know now.

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