HALF OF LG SMART TV APPS USE RESIDENTIAL PROXY SDKS

A study by Spur identified residential proxy SDKs in a significant portion of LG's app ecosystem. These SDKs enable apps to route traffic through residential IP addresses, potentially masking data origins and allowing undisclosed network activity. Residential proxies are commonly used for web scraping, ad verification, and market research—functions that may conflict with user expectations and terms of service. The presence of these tools in consumer devices raises questions about data transparency and bandwidth usage. Affected app categories include streaming services, utility applications, and system tools. LG has not publicly commented on the findings. Security researchers recommend users review app permissions and consider network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns. The discovery adds to growing scrutiny of smart TV privacy practices, joining previous concerns about data collection and targeted advertising on connected devices.