LG monitors quietly installed McAfee ads on connected PCs
Some LG monitors have been found installing an app disguised as a driver update since at least 2024, which pushed McAfee pop-up ads to connected computers. Microsoft has since forced LG to remove the ads, but concerns over transparency remain.
Ads and user tracking have long plagued smart TVs, and similar practices are now creeping into computer monitors as well. Using a regular monitor instead of a smart TV has been a common way to avoid such tracking, but monitors have grown increasingly capable of pushing ads and collecting data in recent years.
App disguised as a driver update
It has come to light that some LG monitors, since at least 2024, have installed an app called "LG Monitor App Installer" onto connected computers through Windows Update, presenting it as a driver update. This app began showing McAfee pop-up ads on the connected PCs.
An LG spokesperson said the app's purpose is to make monitor-related software available so customers can access monitor-specific features. In practice, however, the app pushed ads to connected devices, including at times ads for LG's own software, such as LG Switch and LG Dual Controller.
The app's listing on the Microsoft Store states that it can use all system resources and access the internet connection, which fueled concerns that LG could use the app to collect data and share it with advertisers.
Microsoft intervened
Following public backlash last month, Microsoft reportedly forced LG to remove the McAfee ads. The privacy policy currently linked from the app's Microsoft Store page states that the app and the monitor applications distributed through it do not collect, use, store, or share personal information, adding that the policy will be updated if future versions introduce such data processing.
Despite the removal of the ads, the covert way in which LG monitors installed the software on third-party devices continues to raise serious concerns about transparency and trust in monitor manufacturers.
