The new TV hack trend

Developers are using AI to strip ads, bloatware and tracking from smart TVs. Solutions like dumbtv and cleanyourtv promise to remove sponsored content and speed up interfaces.

What dumbtv promises

The dumbtv project states on GitHub: Your TV should do what you paid for: your apps, your HDMI inputs, and nothing else.

“Your TV should do what you paid for: your apps, your HDMI inputs, and nothing else. No ads from the TV itself, no watch tracking, no update you did not ask for.”

Why AI makes this easier

Recent advances in AI technology have made hacking consumer electronics much more accessible to everyday users, not just technical experts.

The tracking problem

Modern smart TVs use automatic content recognition, or ACR, which identifies what is playing on screen using screenshots, audio clips or digital fingerprinting.

Industry disruption risk

If these hacks become popular with everyday consumers, they could disrupt the smart TV ad industry, which profits from selling viewing data to advertisers or displaying personalized ads.

Gathin T.'s cleanyourtv

Developer Gathin T. created cleanyourtv after getting tired of seeing ads on his parents' TV. He used Claude Code to remove twenty five Xiaomi packages and build a new launcher resembling Apple TV.

Widespread adoption

After Gathin T. tweeted his results, a few thousand people cleaned up their own TVs over the next two days. The hack works on Xiaomi, TCL, Sony, Fire TV, LG and other brands.

Muzzammil Yasin Sabuwala's dumbtv

Developer Muzzammil Yasin Sabuwala created dumbtv because he was tired of ads and not being able to access content directly.

Simple user approach

Some users like Ryan Doyle simply send Claude Code their TV listing and ask Can you hack this? The agent talks them through removing ads, bloatware and customizing the interface.

“Can you hack this?”

Results vary

Some users report success, with one disabling twenty five bloat apps and replacing a one hundred ninety two megabyte launcher with an eighty three megabyte custom one.

Existing alternatives remain

For those wary of using AI to hack their TVs, existing solutions exist for customizing Android based smart TVs, including ATV Launcher, Projectivy Launcher and FLauncher.