LG ThinQ Terms of Use
FR version is available. Content is displayed in original English for accuracy.
Sometimes I like to leave a cold dish in the oven before I go out then remotely start it when I’m on my way back home, so I arrive to a nice hot dinner.
After a recent HN post about LG malware and further research, I decided to kick my appliances out of the network.
I also tried to remove my user account just to find out that in order to use the app I need to first accept the new terms of use.
I asked ChatGPT for a summary. This seems a lot more aggressive than the standard terms of use of other products and services.
1. No arbitration opt-out. You give up court, jury trial, class actions, mass actions, and collective claims. Most disputes must go through individual arbitration, and LG says your only alternative is to stop using the service. Claims generally must be brought within one year. (Sections 20.b and 20.c)
2. Broad rights over anything you submit. LG receives a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, worldwide licence to use, modify, sublicense, and commercially exploit your user content “for any purpose whatsoever,” without payment. Avoid uploading photos, recordings, documents, or detailed personal information. (Section 9.b)
3. No privacy expectation for communications. LG states that it may monitor user content and that you have no expectation of privacy for in-app chat, text, or voice communications. (Section 9.e)
4. Voice capture can include other people. Voice-enabled products may record and analyse family members, children, guests, and bystanders. LG places responsibility on you to inform them and obtain any legally required consent. (Section 4.d)
5. AI may use appliance and usage data. LG says third-party AI systems may rely on data from your use of its products and services. The terms do not clearly describe exactly what is transmitted, how long it is retained, or whether it is used to improve models. That information should be in the separate privacy policy. (Section 4.a)
6. Marketing consent is bundled into use. By using the service, you agree to email, texts, calls, automated or prerecorded messages, and push notifications, including promotions. You can opt out, but you must do so separately. (Section 5)
7. Targeted advertising is permitted. LG reserves the right to show targeted third-party advertising based on user preferences. (Section 11.b)
8. Very low liability limit. For many claims, LG attempts to cap its liability at the greater of the amount involved in the transaction, $100, or a statutory remedy. It also broadly excludes responsibility for lost data and unauthorized access. Local law may limit these clauses. (Section 17)
9. LG can update services remotely. It may push over-the-air updates without further consent and can change or discontinue features. (Sections 3.c and 18)
Discussion (18 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
But it's the end of korean electronics and appliances, and this extends to cars too, Kia and Hyundai designs are near the bottom in terms of repairability.
But since you did that remotely, you probably do that from a "smart" phone. That one is worst than this LG device.
Have you read terms of service of Android devices? Windows? Apple?
Microsoft like Gamers Nexus show on the video, writes down that this practices are malware and illegal and does exact the same thing.
Gamers Nexus amazing review of that LG https://youtu.be/Q9uefFYe6bM
i. CONSENT REQUIREMENT: You acknowledge and agree that it is your sole responsibility to obtain all necessary consents from any third parties whose voices may be captured by the Product and to notify household members and guests that their voices may be captured and processed, in compliance with applicable wiretapping, eavesdropping, and privacy laws. If anyone does not consent, you should disable the microphone or voice features in the settings. LGE disclaims any liability for your failure to obtain such consent or provide such notification.
When he talks about friends coming over "listen guys my tv will record your voices and take pictures and videos... sign here..." OMFG!!!
I had one of their washing machines. Purchased about 18 months ago. The dispenser drawer broke. I'm pretty sure it was bad out of the factory but it did last for this long, so I was happy to shell out for a new one.
Turns out they don't exist. LG have a website where you can search for the part. It's not in stock. They told me to fill out a form on a website they own, giving the part number. A third-party spare parts shop emailed me back saying they don't have the part in stock and that I should contact the manufacturer.
I found one that may or may not be the correct one and there's no way to know for sure before purchasing it. It costs almost £100 and takes 3 weeks to ship.
After days of this ordeal and laundry piling up, I decided to cut my losses and buy a Bosch. That one seems pretty great so far.
My 7 year old LG inverter microwave has been flawless and is the best microwave I have ever used.
My 10 year old pair of LG 4K computer monitors have been great—they still hold a color calibration quite well.
My recently-purchased, and expensive, LG C5 OLED TV has a spectacular picture but is a finicky, ad-ware festooned nightmare. It demands attention to near-daily updates where the updates list contains ads and promotions that I have to scroll through and dismiss to find the actual updates. It is tiring to deal with and especially because the remote control is a ridiculously gimmicky “air remote” where I have to carefully aim it at tiny targets which, even from three feet away, is challenging to do and so unnecessary.
The TV and this story about unauthorized software installations has cured me of interest in new LG offerings.
But this extends to Android devices, Windows, etc.
Almost every device that has internet, will do this. We have to thank the advertising ** people for this. But internet is broken almost from the start. They just got it impossible to use without protection to ads and spyware.
For now at least, we can still find the last few “dumb” models that simply function at appliances without all the bloatware, but that’s little solace. In another ten years, I suspect we may be left with little option but to refurbish old (proprietary!) appliances as best we can.
Maybe this is wishful thinking, but there ought to be a market opening for simple, durable, easily repairable appliances? Where is the competition?
A countermeasure to this is to maintain a radio quiet household, but it's only doable if you're out in the middle of nowhere and requires some substantial confessions as MANY devices have 2.4ghz radios in them.
Also known as the Gross Data Privacy Regime enabler.
Funny part is that some people think that is a good thing and it works.