Developers and vibe coders are using AI tools like Claude Code to remove sponsored ads on their smart TVs, speed up app launchers, disable tracking, and more
The latest use case for AI? Dumbing down your smart TV to get rid of the bloat. A number of developers and vibe coders have recently …
TechCrunchSarah Perez
Context & Ripple Effects
Smart-TV makers and advertisers have spent years treating the television interface as a data and ad surface: Samba TV’s viewing-data collection supported recommendations and ad targeting, while advertisers sought more targeted TV campaigns without repeating online advertising’s privacy failures. Ad-subsidized hardware pushed the model further, from Telly’s proposed always-on second-screen ads to sponsored home-screen placements.
Developers using Claude Code are applying AI-assisted device modification to reverse that bargain at the household level—removing ads, tracking functions and software packages that users view as bloat. Public posts frame the appeal not only as privacy, but as faster interfaces and more customizable TV screens.
First-order effects
Users with the technical confidence to use Claude Code can reduce sponsored-ad exposure, tracking features and unwanted packages on their own smart TVs.
TV makers, ad-tech providers and advertisers lose access to some on-device inventory and viewing signals when owners disable the software components that deliver or measure them.
Second-order effects
The practice puts pressure on TV vendors to make ad-supported interfaces and data collection less intrusive, or to further restrict the device-level access that enables modification.
Free-TV propositions built around persistent advertising—such as Telly’s dual-screen model—face a sharper trade-off between subsidizing hardware with ads and preserving a usable owner experience.
Third-order effects
If AI assistance makes device modification accessible beyond developers, smart-TV economics face a broader tension: recurring advertising and data revenue depends on software control that owners increasingly have tools to contest.
The trend:Generative AI is lowering the skill barrier for consumers to unbundle ad, tracking and software layers from connected devices they already own.
Hacked my TV with Claude Code today No more ads, bloatware, spyware or laggy UI I also got a beautiful screensaver with my revenue, calendar, weather, and notifications for new Stripe payments It was super easy! I sent it the listing for my tv, asked “can you hack this?
Vibe coded my parents' TV this afternoon! It was showing a sponsored ad before you could even get to Netflix. Gave Claude Code the model number, it found the TV on wifi, removed 25 Xiaomi packages and wrote a new launcher. Looks like an Apple TV now lol
Went overboard building a custom launcher for my Not-so-smart TV, with more features than the manufacturer ever shipped: 1. Custom recommendations (trending titles that open straight in the right app) 2. Quality-of-life add-ons: weather, one-press HDMI switching 3. Seamless Apple…