LG monitors are now reportedly sneaking adware onto your PC

LG is facing fresh backlash from users due to its monitors reportedly installing adware without asking users for permission to do so first. People who were using various models from LG's UltraGear monitor line have recently claimed that they are finding an extra 'LG Monitor App Installer' showing up on their PCs, which they say is then being used to display adverts for products such as McAffee. "The $1,200 experience out of the box is adware, and maybe spying on you," Gamers Nexus reports in a video investigating the claims.

"We replicated it simply by plugging it in and turning it on." Showing off the LG 34GX900A-B model, Gamers Nexus host Steve Burke says, "Adware was our thanks for spending $1,200 with LG." He notes that once the app is installed, LG has permission to use "all system resources" and access your internet connection, along with collecting geolocation, device data, online activity, contact data, user credentials, transaction data, and more.

"That's despite installing and running without ever once asking the user or even prompting them for consent at any stage in the pipeline, which we questioned the legality of," Burke continues. He claims this was consistently replicable across multiple Windows 11 machines, with the 'LG Monitor App Installer' installed almost immediately after the drivers with no further confirmation or notification. He adds that a similar pop-up has also occurred for monitors up to three years old that were tested by the team, following a recent Windows update. 

"If we didn't notice it in the Start menu, because it's an on-startup app, a boot application that auto-installs silently in the background, a lot of users might never notice it," Burke remarks. "We might not have noticed it if not for doing what we do. LG Monitor App Installer's sole purpose is to install other apps for your monitor while egregiously advertising subscriptions for McAfee Scam Detector." This particular advert appears as a pop-up recommending a 30-day free trial of McAfee Premium, which Burke says is seen every time the PC is booted up.

As Burke notes, so-called 'bloatware' has been common on PCs for decades, with many pre-built machines coming with particular software already installed, typically as a result of agreements between the manufacturer and software providers. "But this, at least to us, is new. I don't think I've ever personally seen a peripheral third-party device that isn't a full computer with Windows installed on it come with adware to sell you McAfee and whatever else they might pull through their software service."

The LG Monitor App Installer isn't new, but reports of it quietly auto-installing in the background appear to have dramatically increased. Among the affected monitor models is the much-coveted 39GX950-B OLED panel. As for whether LG's software could be watching your activity more closely, Burke says, "we don't have any evidence that they are capturing the pixels on the screen," but he expresses worry that in the future "you can see the window of what is acceptable and normal shifting."

Burke notes that LG has also been facing backlash on the TV side of the market, where a recent update included "AI-based service terms" addressing its voice recognition tools. Looking at the wider user agreement, anyone who agrees to the terms is told it is their "sole responsibility to obtain all necessary consents from any third parties whose voices may be captured by the product." Basically, if you have guests visiting, you've got to let them know that your conversations might be recorded and processed by your television.

This disclosure appears to stem from a settlement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In May, Paxton secured an agreement with LG specifically requiring a pop-up for its smart TVs that gave users a description of how their usage data would be collected, and ensuring a "clear and simple way to opt out of any viewing data collection agreements."

If you're using a modern LG monitor, you'll want to check your installed apps and those set to boot on startup, and consider uninstalling any that you don't want to have running in the background. You can use the 'Local Group Policy Editor' to prevent the automatic download of applications in this way, but that function doesn't even come installed on Windows by default nowadays, so it's a process most users won't have easy access to. If nothing else, always be sure to regularly monitor your recent installs for any rogue apps like this. I have reached out to LG for comment, and will update this story with any response.