Having an Apple TV app or an Apple account does involve providing Apple with more information.
Each time I publish a piece about mounting ads and tracking on new TVs, Apple TV always comes up. Of all the smart TVs, streaming sticks, and other streaming boxes out there, Apple TV is generally viewed as a haven.
“Unplug your TV from the internet and use an Apple TV instead.”
That’s the typical recommendation you’ll get from Ars Technica commenters who desire the convenience of streaming but don’t want to sacrifice too much privacy. From what we’ve learned and from the experts we interviewed, this is in fact good advice—Apple TVs do provide much more privacy than most other streams.
But how private are Apple TV devices, then? They don’t employ Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)—a tracking technology used by most smart TVs and streamers—but might that change? And what about the apps you run on Apple TV? Can those apps report data to Apple or advertisers?
In this article, we’ll explore what makes Apple TV more private than its competitors—and whether users can expect limited ads and enhanced privacy to last.
Apple TV Limits Tracking Out of the Box
One of the easiest methods Apple enforces greater privacy is when you initially set up your Apple TV. You can turn off Siri, location tracking, and sending analytics data to Apple during the process of setting it up. You’re also asked a number of times to read over Apple’s data and privacy policies. Voice input data isn’t sent to Apple by default either.
This is how most other streaming devices handle these settings, hiding them down in the menus—so everyone disables tracking by accident. Apple’s method gives people an extra layer of protection, even if they’re not tech-savvy.
Since tvOS 14.5, Apple has made third-party apps ask permission first before they track people.
As Apple itself says:
> “If you select ‘Ask App Not to Track,’ the developer will not receive access to the system’s ad identifier (IDFA), which is used for tracking in many cases. The app cannot also track you with other identifying information, such as your email address.”
Users can go into Apple TV’s settings and disable even the ability for apps to ask to track—though Apple could strengthen privacy by turning this off by default.
You also have control over what apps can access—like Bluetooth, photos, music, HomeKit data (if applicable), and the Siri remote’s microphone.
RJ Cross, Director of Consumer Privacy at the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), notes:
> “Apple’s fundamental business model doesn’t depend on targeted advertising, so they’re less motivated to gather gigantic amounts of your data for their profit. Me, personally, I trust them more with my data than I trust most tech firms.”
What Happens If You Share Analytics?
Apple says that if you do decide to share analytics with Apple or app developers, the information is not identifiable. They go on to say that personal information is either never logged, removed before it’s sent, or shielded using methods such as differential privacy.
Differential privacy introduces “noise” into data to assist in hiding identities. Apple describes this in a support document:
1. On-device obfuscation: Information is anonymized on the device prior to leaving your device.
2. Secure transmission: Device IDs are stripped, and data is encrypted while being sent.
3. Private aggregation: Processing of data takes place in isolated environments where even Apple staff members can’t see raw inputs.
What If You Use an Apple Account with Apple TV?
Another privacy factor to consider is your Apple account (previously referred to as your Apple ID).
As Apple’s own documentation explains, you require an Apple account to access Apple TV—but in theory, it is possible to make use of the device without logging in. Most users, however, do sign in to allow Apple TV to be linked to other Apple devices or to access the Apple TV app, which is one of the most important features of the device.
So what information does Apple take through your account? Apple’s privacy policy states:
* Usage data such as app usage, browsing and search behavior, and content interaction.
* Transaction data relating to purchases, including on Apple services.
* Account information including your email address, registered devices, account status, and age.
* Device information such as serial numbers and browser types.
* Contact and payment information including addresses and bank information.
This isn’t surprising—it’s what Apple must do in order to run its ecosystem. If, however, you use the same Apple ID on many devices, Apple is able to connect your TV viewing with your iPhone or Mac usage.
One solution is to have a second Apple ID solely for your Apple TV. That way, Apple will only be able to gather basic, device-level information. Alternatively, you can use Apple TV without ever signing in to an account—but that prevents you from accessing the Apple TV app, a significant loss.
Data Collection through the Apple TV App
You may download apps such as Netflix and Hulu onto Apple TV, but the Apple TV app is where most people watch. It’s mandatory for viewing Apple TV+, and it also pulls together other popular apps’ content.
Of course, the app tracks information about your purchases, downloads, viewing history, and device usage. This assists in remembering your position in shows across devices.
Yet Apple also collects some extra data:
* What features you use (such as “Up Next” or your library)
* Which content pages you look at
* How you engage with notifications
* Approximate location information
Apple also monitors your search queries within the app for better search models.
Although this is not as invasive as selling out to advertisers, like some other platforms do, privacy-aware users might still feel uneasy about letting a trillion-dollar corporation watch what they do.
By default, the Apple TV app also keeps tabs on what you watch, purchase, and browse to provide personalized recommendations for content. Although these aren’t the kind of ads we’re used to, they do steer you in a particular direction.
You can disable these recommendations—but not within the app itself. You must instead navigate to Apple TV Settings > Apps > TV > Use Play History > Off.
Privacy-conscious users may be more comfortable if this setting is turned off by default.
Dario Maistro, a legal fellow at the nonprofit STOP (Surveillance Technology Oversight Project), explained to Ars:
> “Even though people can opt out of personalized content, many won’t know that option is available.”
Apple can also use data collected in the Apple TV app to show standard ads—especially if you’ve allowed location tracking. Apple says this location data may be used for geotargeted ads, although location tracking is off by default.
tvOS itself doesn’t include baked-in ads. For comparison, other systems like Roku OS and LG’s webOS display ads on the home screen or screensavers.
Nevertheless, Apple might employ aggregated Apple TV app data on its platforms (such as Apple News or the App Store) to present you with more relevant ads.
Apple also shares non-personal aggregated data with content owners, advertisers, and partners—for example:
* To pay royalties
* To count viewership
* To enhance services
That information might include viewing patterns, general location, and inferred demographics such as age and gender.
Apple explained to Ars that users are able to erase their play history from the Apple TV app.
Nevertheless, Apple TV reports much less data to third parties than other platforms. For instance:
* Netflix reports some of its users’ data to ad companies.
* Warner Bros. Discovery (Max) reports viewer data to advertisers.
* Disney+ allows Nielsen tracking by default.
What If You Use Siri?
You can turn Siri off at setup. But if you do decide to use it for voice control, there’s a privacy tradeoff.
Here are Apple’s TV privacy settings:
* Siri requests always go to Apple’s servers.
* If you agree to let Apple improve Siri and dictation, Apple can store your voice recordings.
* If you don’t agree to opt in, recordings aren’t stored—but transcripts are still stored.
Transcripts are attached to a random identifier for as long as six months. Beyond this, the information is anonymized but potentially retained for as long as two years for product development.
Apple maintains voice data isn’t used to create marketing profiles or sold to third parties. However, in 2024 Apple paid $95 million to settle a class-action suit claiming Siri recorded and transmitted personal conversations.
Contractors in 2019 also reported overhearing sensitive audio, such as private and intimate dialogue, from Siri recordings.
Outside of Apple as well, voice data has been utilized in criminal cases and by company staff—demonstrating that Siri input is a means by which user activity might be tracked.
No ACR (Yet) on Apple TV Devices
An Apple spokesperson assured Ars that Apple TVs do not have ACR (Automatic Content Recognition)—a significant victory for privacy enthusiasts.
But ACR is software-based, so Apple could include it later via an update.
Sherman Lee, founder of Enswers (which was the first to roll out ACR in Samsung TVs), says it’s possible—but not easy—to retrofit ACR into current Apple TVs.
Earlier Samsung and LG TVs were backported ACR, but Apple TV’s hardware and software complexity might make it more difficult to apply. It’s more likely that Apple would launch a new model with ACR than add it to current ones, according to Lee.
If you prefer to have a streaming life with minimal third-party tracking, Apple TV is as good a choice as it gets at this point. It’s not ideal—particularly where Siri and navigating the Apple TV app are concerned—but it’s still much more user-friendly and transparent than the rest.