Developers are sharing projects that use AI coding agents to remove sponsored adverts, tracking features and unwanted software from smart TVs, TechCrunch reports.
One project, dumbtv, aims to leave a set with only the owner's apps and HDMI inputs, and has been tested on Fire TV and Android or Google TV sets from brands including Sony, TCL, Philips, Hisense and Xiaomi. Its developer, Muzammil Yasin Sabuwala, said he built it with a mix of DeepSeek and Anthropic Claude models. Another, cleanyourtv, works over Wi-Fi on Android and Google TV sets and replaces the home screen.
Neither needs root access, and sets can be returned to their factory state. TechCrunch notes that the tools target automatic content recognition, which tracks what people watch, and could hurt the smart TV advertising business if they catch on.
Source: TechCrunch
