Just keep the TV completely disconnected and use something like an Apple TV.

Now you're trusting Apple to not enshittify your TV with a firmware update. Even modern set-top boxes are so awful that I understand why everyone moved on to phones/computers.

Anything that you use to show stuff on your tv is gonna have this problem. Apple is a little higher on the trust spectrum than, say, Roku. You’re paying Apple in part for the convenience of not doing a homebrew setup, and in part for the trust.

Not anything - you can use XBMC or Jellyfin and have a certain degree of control over your frontend.

Apple's big problem is that whatever they say, goes. If they decide to partner with Hulu for advertisements, you have no escape hatch to install a respectful UX.

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What makes you think the Apple TV isn't also spying on you? It almost certainly is collecting telemetry too. Whether that's more or less than LG I don't know, but my preference is a Linux box with Plasma Bigscreen.

What do you use when you switch between Netflix, AppleTV, etc? Some of those platforms won't even show you HD unless it's through HDCP compliant hardware and OS, which Linux isn't. That happened with the World Cup.

I don't watch Netflix or AppleTV. I believe you can simply use a Web browser, at the expensive of capped resolutions on some streaming services. VacuumTube is a drop-in replacement and improvement for the YouTube/Leanback app. If you require Android apps, Waydroid is an option. Overall, if you value privacy and user-control more than a frictionless experience, it's a great setup.

At least you can replace it if that becomes a problem. Firmware built into the TV itself is something that you're stuck with.