LG ThinQ Terms of Use

Some of my kitchen appliances are LG and I installed the LG ThinQ app on my phone.

Sometimes I like to leave a cold dish in the oven before I go out then remotely start it when I’m on my way back home, so I arrive to a nice hot dinner.

After a recent HN post about LG malware and further research, I decided to kick my appliances out of the network.

I also tried to remove my user account just to find out that in order to use the app I need to first accept the new terms of use.

I asked ChatGPT for a summary. This seems a lot more aggressive than the standard terms of use of other products and services.

1. No arbitration opt-out. You give up court, jury trial, class actions, mass actions, and collective claims. Most disputes must go through individual arbitration, and LG says your only alternative is to stop using the service. Claims generally must be brought within one year. (Sections 20.b and 20.c)

2. Broad rights over anything you submit. LG receives a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, worldwide licence to use, modify, sublicense, and commercially exploit your user content “for any purpose whatsoever,” without payment. Avoid uploading photos, recordings, documents, or detailed personal information. (Section 9.b)

3. No privacy expectation for communications. LG states that it may monitor user content and that you have no expectation of privacy for in-app chat, text, or voice communications. (Section 9.e)

4. Voice capture can include other people. Voice-enabled products may record and analyse family members, children, guests, and bystanders. LG places responsibility on you to inform them and obtain any legally required consent. (Section 4.d)

5. AI may use appliance and usage data. LG says third-party AI systems may rely on data from your use of its products and services. The terms do not clearly describe exactly what is transmitted, how long it is retained, or whether it is used to improve models. That information should be in the separate privacy policy. (Section 4.a)

6. Marketing consent is bundled into use. By using the service, you agree to email, texts, calls, automated or prerecorded messages, and push notifications, including promotions. You can opt out, but you must do so separately. (Section 5)

7. Targeted advertising is permitted. LG reserves the right to show targeted third-party advertising based on user preferences. (Section 11.b)

8. Very low liability limit. For many claims, LG attempts to cap its liability at the greater of the amount involved in the transaction, $100, or a statutory remedy. It also broadly excludes responsibility for lost data and unauthorized access. Local law may limit these clauses. (Section 17)

9. LG can update services remotely. It may push over-the-air updates without further consent and can change or discontinue features. (Sections 3.c and 18)

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