Turn Off Tracking Secria

Do streaming sticks have ACR?

Roku puts its ACR switch on its players as well as its TVs. Amazon says it doesn't use ACR to track all the shows you watch, and Google says Google TV doesn't use it. The TV itself still may.1, 2

Checked 1 November 2026 against the sources. Steps are for US devices.

Turn off the TV's ACR too

ACR on a smart TV reads the screen, not the app, so a stick doesn't hide what you watch from the TV.

The TV sees every input

Roku says ACR on its TVs collects what you watch through streaming, an antenna or other connected devices.1 Consumer Reports found Samsung's ACR also collects information for any device you connect to the TV.2

Find your TV in our brand-by-brand steps.

The stick sees its own apps

Consumer Reports says Fire TV collects what you watch in streaming apps on the platform.2 Google says it collects your watch activity, app interactions and approximate location to run Google TV.3

Use the steps below for the stick.

Turn it off on the stick

Each guide repeats only the core steps. The full platform guides have the rest.

Roku Streaming Stick and other Roku players

SettingsPrivacy › Smart TV Experience

Roku's help page describes the Smart TV Experience, which uses ACR, as part of "your Roku player or TV". Last updated 23 June 2026.1 Full Roku guide

  1. Press Home on the Roku remote and choose Settings from the left-hand menu.1
  2. Select Privacy › Smart TV Experience.1
  3. If Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) is ticked, highlight it and press OK to untick it.Roku says ACR is not on out of the box, and that it keeps data collected while ACR was on.1
  4. For ads, open Settings › Privacy › Advertising.Ad category choices there apply to every streaming device on your Roku account, but only to banner ads on the Home Screen and screensaver.4

You can also set Smart TV Experience to NO at my.roku.com, under Privacy Settings.1

Fire TV Stick

PreferencesPrivacy Settings

Checked against Amazon's Privacy Settings FAQs for Fire TV Products, read 1 November 2026.5 Full Fire TV guide

  1. Open Settings › Preferences › Privacy Settings.5
  2. Turn off Device Usage Data and Collect App Usage Data.5
  3. Turn off Interest-based Ads.Apps that use the device's advertising ID are told not to use it for ad profiles or interest-based ads.5

Amazon's over-the-air viewing switch is only on smart TVs with Fire TV built in, for an antenna plugged into the TV.5 Repeat the steps on each device: Amazon says the settings are device-specific.5

Google TV Streamer and Chromecast with Google TV

SettingsPrivacy › Ads, and Privacy › Location

Checked against Google TV Help, read 1 November 2026.6, 3 Full Google TV guide

  1. From the home screen, select Settings at the top.6
  2. Select Privacy › Ads › Delete advertising ID.Google says no new ID is assigned, and you can create one again later.6
  3. Select Settings › Privacy › Location and turn it off.Google and others may still get a general location from your IP address.3

Google says you can't turn off ads on Google TV, only control how the advertising ID is used for personalized ads.6

Questions people ask

Does a Fire TV Stick have ACR?

According to Consumer Reports, Amazon says it doesn't use ACR to track all the shows you watch and doesn't collect data through a cable box or other non-Amazon device plugged into the TV. Fire TV does collect what you watch in streaming apps on the platform.2

Does Chromecast or Google TV Streamer use ACR?

Google says the Google TV platform itself doesn't use ACR to capture what's being watched, according to Consumer Reports.2 Google does collect your watchlist, watch activity and streaming services for recommendations.3

Will using a stick instead of the TV's apps stop tracking?

Not on its own. If the TV's ACR is on, it can identify what the stick plays, so turn off ACR on the TV as well.1, 2

Other TV guides

Sources 6
  1. Using 'More Ways to Watch' on your Roku TV, Roku Support, last updated 23 June 2026. Read 1 November 2026.
  2. How to Turn Off Smart TV Snooping Features, James K. Willcox, Consumer Reports, sections Amazon Fire TV, Android and Google TVs, and Samsung TVs, updated 19 October 2025. Read 1 November 2026.
  3. How Google TV handles your data, Google TV Help, undated. Read 1 November 2026.
  4. How to manage ad preferences, Roku Support, last updated 18 June 2026. Read 1 November 2026.
  5. Privacy Settings FAQs for Fire TV Products, Fire Tablets and Kindle E-readers, Amazon Customer Service, undated. Read 1 November 2026.
  6. Change ad settings for your Google TV, Google TV Help, undated. Read 1 November 2026.

Apple TV has its own page: Apple TV privacy settings. Every step comes from Roku's, Amazon's or Google's own help page; the platform notes come from Consumer Reports' dated tests. How we check