A new analysis by consumer privacy advocates confirms what many Apple fans have long suspected. Apple’s TV set-top box is far more respectful of user privacy than rival streaming devices.
The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), in a report discussed by Ars Technica, found that Apple TV 4K collects very little personal data and includes built-in options to opt out of tracking.
In contrast, competitors like Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, and many “smart” TVs bombard users with ads and hidden trackers.
The report highlights multiple reasons why Apple TVs lead in streaming privacy. These include a non-ad-based business model, no automatic content recognition (ACR) tracking, clear opt-out prompts, and on-device anonymization of any collected data.
This assessment comes amid growing concerns over data collection and tracking features embedded in most platforms.
Why Apple TV leads in streaming privacy
The report highlights the following reasons:
1. No ACR (Automatic Content Recognition)
One of the clearest privacy wins for Apple TV is the absence of automatic content recognition (ACR) tracking. ACR is a technology that can “listen” to or analyze what’s on your screen and create a detailed profile of every show or movie you watch, a profile that can then be used to target ads.
Many Smart TVs and streaming devices use ACR by default, even tracking your viewing over HDMI inputs. The PIRG report highlights that Apple TV simply does not use ACR at all.
As the HDTVTest summary explains, Apple TV, unlike other brands, “doesn’t use invasive automatic content recognition technology to keep track of what people are looking at while using the device”.
Technically, Apple could add ACR via a software update, but experts believe this would require new hardware and seems unlikely given Apple’s privacy stance.
“Everyone believes, in theory, you can add ACR anywhere you want at any time because it’s software, but because of the way [hardware is] architected… the interplay between the chipsets, like the SoCs, and the firmware is different in a lot of situations,”
Sherman Li, the founder of Enswers, the company that first put ACR in Samsung TVs, explains.
2. Ad-free business model
Apple’s revenue model also contributes to Apple TV’s privacy edge. Unlike Roku or Amazon, Apple does not rely on selling ads or user data.
As PIRG’s RJ Cross notes, “Apple’s primary business model isn’t dependent on selling targeted ads, so it has somewhat less incentive to harvest and monetize incredible amounts of your data.” He adds, “I, personally, trust them more with my data than other tech companies.”
Apple’s TV operating system (tvOS) has no integrated ads on its home screen or menu, unlike many competitors. For example, Roku’s interface shows sponsored content and ads by default.
The PIRG report remarks that “Apple TV 4K doesn’t bombard users with ads, unlike most other devices, such as streaming sticks from Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV, and smart TVs from Samsung, LG… and others”.
This lack of in-platform advertising means Apple TV simply has less reason to track you.
3. Privacy-focused setup and permissions
From the moment you turn on an Apple TV, the system asks for permission on privacy-related features. During the initial setup, tvOS presents clear prompts to opt in or out of things like Siri voice control, Location Services, and sending analytics data to Apple.
According to the report, you can also easily disable Siri, location tracking, and analytics sharing with Apple right at the start. This is in contrast to many other platforms (and smart TVs) where such options are hidden in deep menus or poorly explained.
By default, an Apple TV will not send analytics or allow voice queries via Siri unless you explicitly enable them.
4. App tracking transparency
Apple extends its “App Tracking Transparency” model to tvOS as well. Since tvOS 14.5, any app on Apple TV that wants to track you across other apps or access your device identifier must ask your permission first.
This means third-party TV apps can no longer secretly share your viewing habits with advertisers unless you explicitly agree.
“If you choose Ask App Not to Track, the app developer can’t access the system advertising identifier (IDFA), which is often used to track,” Apple mentions. “The app is also not permitted to track your activity using other information that identifies you or your device, like your email address.”
The app-by-app consent mechanism limits cross-app profiling and is something most streaming boxes don’t require by default.
5. Encrypted network and DNS privacy
Apple TV has also adopted strong network privacy features. Starting in tvOS 17 (2023), Apple built a “relay” technology into the OS that lets the device encrypt its network traffic.
The gadgets can use iCloud Private Relay and other proxies to hide their DNS queries and browsing data.
“iCloud Private Relay is designed to protect your privacy by ensuring that when you browse the web in Safari, no single party—not even Apple—can see both who you are and what sites you’re visiting,” Apple says.
Devices running tvOS 17 or later can route traffic over an encrypted HTTP/3 or HTTP/2 tunnel and even use multiple relays in parallel, including iCloud Private Relay.
So, if you enable Private Relay on your Apple TV’s network settings, your DNS lookups and app connections are masked from any eavesdropping observer.
This DNS-level encryption is a feature that most other streaming devices lack. Many non-Apple TVs do not support encrypted DNS by default, leaving domain queries visible on your local network.
With Apple TV’s built-in relay, it is much harder for advertisers or ISPs to snoop on what you’re watching.
6. Anonymized data handling
The data Apple collects from your Apple TV usage is handled with strong privacy protections. Any analytics or viewing data that Apple records is collected in an anonymized and aggregated fashion.
“The first step we take is to privatize the information using local differential privacy on the user’s device. The purpose of privatization is to ensure that Apple’s servers don’t receive clear data.
Device identifiers are removed from the data, and it is transmitted to Apple over an encrypted channel. The Apple analysis system ingests the differentially private contributions, dropping IP addresses and other metadata.” Apple documentation notes.
Apple’s servers do receive information, such as which shows or apps have been used, but this data is processed through techniques like differential privacy, so it cannot be tied back to a specific user.
In other words, the company might know how many times a particular show was watched on Apple TVs in total, but not who specifically watched it. By default, even activity like your “Recently Watched” list is linked only to an anonymous user profile.
This anonymization extends to things like search queries in the TV app or Apple TV+. Apple will not sell your viewing history or search results to marketers. What’s more, if you don’t like the built-in personalization, you can turn off content recommendations and data sharing entirely in the settings.
7. Voice and Siri privacy
Apple also applies its strict voice privacy policies to the TV. When you use Siri on Apple TV, the voice audio and transcription are subject to Apple’s normal protections.
According to the report, Siri requests fall under Apple’s general Siri privacy stipulations. This means voice clips are analyzed on-device when possible, and any transcripts sent to Apple’s servers are anonymized.
The report also notes that Apple retains anonymized transcripts for a limited period (up to six months).
Keep in mind that Apple does not always adhere to this. In January 2025, the company was sued for using Siri to record private conversations and then sharing them with third parties for targeted ads. They settled the class action for $95 million.
8. Optional Apple TV account and tracking controls
For maximum privacy, the PIRG analysis suggests a few extra steps. Apple TV requires you to sign in with an Apple ID for full features, but you can skip signing in if you just want to watch free apps or use AirPlay. In this case, almost all data collection stops.
The report recommends that privacy-minded users “use Apple’s set-top box without an Apple account, as well as disable all tracking features and avoid Siri or the Apple TV app”.
The Apple TV app itself collects watch history and search data to improve its recommendations. That data could theoretically be used in Apple’s larger ecosystem.
However, you can turn off personalized advertising in your Apple ID settings so nothing from the TV app is tied to your identity. Not signing into the Apple TV app keeps your watch choices fully off the record.
9. Experts’ consensus: Apple TV is best for privacy
Multiple experts have reached the same conclusion: Apple TV is the safest mainstream streaming device for privacy.
As HDTVTest put it, “Apple TV 4K wins hands-down in terms of user privacy”. Although it still connects to the internet, the device has far fewer built-in tracking mechanisms.
“Apple TV boxes aren’t incapable of tracking you, but they’re still the best recommendation for streaming users seeking hardware with more privacy and fewer ads,” the PIRG/Ars analysis notes.
Remaining considerations for Apple TV
Although the device is the most privacy-friendly, it has a few shortcomings.
For instance, using your Apple account allows you to link behavior across devices. That includes purchase history, usage data, and content interaction. Users may choose a secondary Apple ID dedicated to Apple TV use for added privacy.
Additionally, third-party apps like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime may collect usage analytics and ad targeting data. Setting restrictions on Apple doesn’t prevent that.
In the future, Apple could theoretically introduce ACR or tracking tied to ad-supported services. The current absence of ACR isn’t permanent. There are even rumors of ad-supported tiers in Apple TV+, supported by hires from NBCUniversal.