Vibe Coding Takes Aim at Smart TV Ads and Tracking Software

AI agents strip ads and trackers from smart TVs

A new trend known as "vibe coding" has led smart TV owners to use AI agents to remove sponsored ads, tracking software, and sluggish home screens. The process exploded on social media this weekend, with users describing how they instruct AI to overhaul their television sets.

The trend gained attention after a developer named Gathin T. shared his experience with a Xiaomi TV owned by his parents. He used an AI coding agent to find the TV on his home Wi-Fi network, disable 25 Xiaomi software packages, and create a new home screen interface. Gathin described the result as looking like an Apple TV.

How the cleanyourtv project works

Gathin packaged his method into an open-source project called cleanyourtv. The tool uses Android’s built-in debugging bridge, or ADB, to switch off unwanted apps rather than deleting them. This approach allows users to restore the original settings with a single script.

As of Tuesday, the project listed tested setups for 107 TV models from 37 brands. The repository had collected 10,700 stars on GitHub and had been forked 1,200 times. Gathin reported that several thousand people had performed the same cleanup on their own TVs within two days of the project's release.

Key numbers and user results

• The cleanyourtv project supports 107 TV models from 37 brands.
• One user replaced a 192 MB stock launcher with a custom 83 MB version.
• Another user reported that free memory on an old Android TV rose by about 90%.
• A rival project called dumbtv targets Amazon Fire TV and disables about 65 packages.
• The cleanyourtv repository has 1,200 forks and 85 open pull requests.

Why TV makers profit from your viewing

Smart TV manufacturers often earn revenue from ads and viewing data. This practice uses Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR, which fingerprints whatever is on screen and reports it back to the maker. Texas sued Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL in December 2025, alleging their TVs capture screenshots of the display twice a second.

Regulators have addressed these privacy concerns before. In 2017, Vizio paid $2.2 million to settle charges related to collecting viewing data from 11 million TVs without consent. Despite this, Vizio was acquired by Walmart in 2024 for about $2.3 billion, partly due to its profitable advertising business.

What is confirmed and what is unclear

It is confirmed that the cleanyourtv tool works on Android TV and Google TV systems from brands like Sony, TCL, Hisense, Philips, and Xiaomi. Users have successfully removed tracking software from LG TVs running webOS, though the interface overhaul is more limited compared to Android devices. Samsung's Tizen system and Amazon Fire TV have different levels of support, with Fire TV only allowing partial cleanup.

Uncertainty remains regarding safety. The cleanyourtv readme file warns that network ADB is unencrypted on some firmware, potentially allowing any device on the same Wi-Fi to control the TV. Additionally, AI agents can be manipulated; Microsoft found in 2026 that hidden instructions could trick Claude Code into exposing credentials, a flaw Anthropic patched in May.

Why this matters for privacy

For privacy-conscious users, removing these tools prevents manufacturers from selling targeted ads and collecting usage data. Experts note that some TVs can pinpoint user locations and collect voice data even when the device appears off. The ability to customize the home screen also improves performance, as seen in cases where free memory increased significantly after removing bloatware.

What happens next

Users should switch debugging off after completing the process to secure their home networks. The open-source community continues to submit changes, with 85 open pull requests currently pending. While the trend allows for significant customization, users report mixed results, with some instances of devices becoming unusable, known as bricking, during the process.

Source

• Decrypt