---
type: "raw_signal"
id: "people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-9524e0"
slug: "people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-9524e0"
title: "People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again"
description: "TechCrunch reports that developers and users are using coding agents to simplify smart TVs: removing sponsored ads and preinstalled apps, replacing launchers, and disabling tracking features."
retrieval_nugget: "TechCrunch reports that developers and users are using coding agents to simplify smart TVs: removing sponsored ads and preinstalled apps, replacing launchers, and disabling tracking features."
observed_at: "2026-10-20"
record_date: "2026-10-20"
date_kind: "observed_at"
why_it_matters: "Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again"
novelty: "notable"
verification_level: "source-linked"
signal_type: "announcement"
source_platform: "techcrunch.com"
topics: ["coding-agents"]
entities: ["TechCrunch","cleanyourtv","dumbtv","Claude Code","Xiaomi","Google TV","Fire TV"]
related_patterns: []
novelty_label: "new_fact"
what_changed: "The story adds AI-assisted ways to strip ads, tracking and bloatware from smart TVs, including dumbtv and cleanyourtv; the prior concerns LG data collection."
prior_refs: ["memory:5291393a-873d-8628-a483-4c55c124cc07"]
source_url: "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again"
source_urls: ["https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again"]
schema_version: "newruntime-agent-readable-v0.2"
stable_id: "signal:people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-9524e0"
status: "published"
visuals: []
editor: {"role":"editor","name":"Andrey Reshetnikov","profile":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md","profile_json":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json","same_as":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshetnikov1/","https://t.me/lapetuse"]}
routes: {"html":"https://newruntime.com/signals/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-9524e0/","markdown":"https://newruntime.com/signals/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-9524e0.md","json":"https://newruntime.com/signals/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-9524e0.json"}
---

# People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again

## Retrieval answer

TechCrunch reports that developers and users are using coding agents to simplify smart TVs: removing sponsored ads and preinstalled apps, replacing launchers, and disabling tracking features.

TechCrunch reports that developers and users are using coding agents to simplify smart TVs: removing sponsored ads and preinstalled apps, replacing launchers, and disabling tracking features. The cleanyourtv creator said an agent found his parents’ Xiaomi TV over Wi-Fi, disabled 25 packages and installed a simpler launcher; he said several thousand people tried the approach over the following two days. The project does not require root access and can be reversed. A separate project, dumbtv, has been tested on Fire TV Edition and Android/Google TV devices from multiple manufacturers. These are works in progress, not validated universal procedures. TechCrunch also reports user accounts of mistakes, bricked TVs and incomplete attempts. The episode shows how coding agents can lower the expertise barrier for modifying consumer devices, while leaving users responsible for verifying consequential system changes.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again

Editor: [Andrey Reshetnikov](https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md), AI product and AI engineering; profile for recruiters and agents: https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json

## Continue in the graph

Next records for an agent, linked to their Markdown twins. Replace `.md` with `.json` for structured fields, including `next_reads`.

- topic hub: [Coding Agents](https://newruntime.com/topics/coding-agents.md): Explore the coding-agents topic hub.
- collection: [Raw Signals](https://newruntime.com/signals.json): Open every source-linked raw signal.
- collection: [Source Ledger](https://newruntime.com/source-ledger.json): Inspect the public source evidence graph.
- whole graph: [discovery graph](https://newruntime.com/discovery-graph.json) (typed nodes and edges) and [site index](https://newruntime.com/site-index.md)