Viewing Data Supplement to the VIZIO Privacy Policy

Viewing Data – Overview

Now that VIZIO is owned by Walmart, you will have an additional choice about whether Walmart can link your Viewing Data to the Walmart account logged in to those devices or services. This will be explained with a separate notice and consent when setting up your device and the data will be used in ways consistent with this notice.

VIZIO OS products (VIZIO internet-connected TVs and other products that use a VIZIO-branded operating system, such as “SmartCast” or “VIZIO OS”), have built-in technology, such as Automated Content Recognition (“ACR”), that can understand the VIZIO OS product viewing behavior and usage, including audio and video programming, ads, gaming content, devices connected to the VIZIO OS product (e.g., a streaming stick plugged into an HDMI port), and third-party apps, in real-time. Video and audio data collection and analysis using ACR and other technologies is referred to as “Viewing Data.”

  • At any time, you may change your Viewing Data settings within the Settings menu of your VIZIO OS product. Turning it off will not affect the performance of your VIZIO OS product or any online services.
  • Prior to collecting Viewing Data, each device will receive (i) a notification, explaining the nature and purpose of the feature, separate and apart from this Privacy Policy and (ii) an opportunity to choose whether to turn on Viewing Data.
  • At that time and any time after, you can change the setting for the Viewing Data collection off or on. Disabling Viewing Data will not, however, affect or limit Activity Data collection through the VIZIO OS product. Please review VIZIO’s Privacy Policy for further information.
  • If you sign in to your VIZIO OS product with a Walmart account that has opted out of the sale/sharing of personal information (including for targeted advertising), we will honor the opt-out including by not selling or sharing your Viewing Data on your account-linked VIZIO OS products if they have the latest firmware supporting this feature. Your Viewing Data will still be collected unless you toggle off Viewing Data collection on your VIZIO OS products.

This Privacy Policy may be modified from time to time as new features and functionality become available.

What is Viewing Data?

For VIZIO OS products that have agreed to Viewing Data collection, VIZIO will use technology such as ACR to collect information about the audio and video programming content playing on the display unit, including audio and video programming, advertisements, other commercially available content (including volume, channel information, picture controls, and inputs), and other information (like when the device is off/on or if the content was viewed live or at a later time). VIZIO will also collect the identity of devices connected to the VIZIO OS product (e.g., a streaming stick plugged into an HDMI port) and third-party services or applications, such as streaming service providers (including stream and launch events for movies, TV shows, episodes and channels) that you connect to. Video and audio data collection and analysis using ACR and other technologies is referred to as “Viewing Data.”

Viewing Data is associated with the IP address for the device and a unique device identifier. VIZIO may associate Viewing Data with VIZIO Account or Walmart account information that you use to sign in to the VIZIO OS product, including email address, phone number, or other personal information. The Viewing Data technology also periodically collects other information about the VIZIO OS product, including IP address and the media access control (“MAC”) addresses of available access points.

At any time, you may turn Viewing Data on or off from the Settings menu of your VIZIO OS product. Turning it off will not affect the performance of your VIZIO OS product or any online services. For specific instructions on how to turn off or on the collection of Viewing Data, see the text below under the heading “How Can I Turn Off or On the Viewing Data Feature?”

How Is Viewing Data Used and Shared?

VIZIO associates Viewing Data with other data about the performance, settings, or features of a particular VIZIO OS product. Our authorized cloud service providers also store and process Viewing Data solely on our behalf and for no other purposes.

VIZIO may share Viewing Data with vendors, consultants, and service providers who work on our behalf and make our business-to-business activities in digital advertising possible.

VIZIO applies technical measures to protect the confidentiality of related personally identifiable information (such as your email address), including by encrypting the data or hashing email addresses in any sharing with third parties.

VIZIO may use algorithms, machine learning, or artificial intelligence tools to help analyze and understand Viewing Data for purposes consistent with this notice, including improving and personalizing advertising, VIZIO services, and/or user experiences.

In addition, VIZIO also licenses Viewing Data to advertisers, ad agencies, analytics companies, media companies, and other ad technology companies who measure ad effectiveness or aid with the personalization of ads.

VIZIO may use Viewing Data with information from data brokers or advertisers, such as demographic data, smartphone location, web history, and purchasing history, and usage information (such as how much time was spent viewing content). 

When VIZIO licenses Viewing Data to these external data partners, VIZIO prohibits them from combining or associating the Viewing Data with any information that would result in the Viewing Data becoming identifiable to individual persons, unless those data partners have received separate permissions from users (such as when users sign up with partners for audience surveys). Viewing Data is used for the purposes listed below:

  • Summary Analytics and Reports. VIZIO’s select data partners may analyze Viewing Data in order to create summary reports and analysis to help deliver relevant information and advertising to interested groups of customers. These summary reports are built from automated analysis of data elements, without connecting the information to any known individual. For example, a data partner who is an advertiser may want high level (aggregated) data that measures the effectiveness of their promotions. Thus, the data partner may identify another device that shares an IP address with the VIZIO OS product and analyze: (a) whether a particular website was viewed or commercial location was visited by a device with location tracking enabled (e.g., a smartphone) after a related promotion was viewed, and (b) whether a particular program was viewed following exposure to a promotion for that program. In addition, some data partners are authorized to use a third-party data aggregator to identify demographic traits (e.g., gender, age range, income range) associated with the IP addresses that VIZIO collects, and the data aggregator may provide partners the demographic information associated with those IP addresses.
  • Audience Measurement. VIZIO and these select data partners also use Viewing Data to understand what customers watch in order to deliver more relevant content and advertising, for example, by determining which programs are most popular, how many people watch a program to its end, and whether and how often people are watching commercials. VIZIO and these select data partners may also combine Viewing Data with other demographic and similar information, including by working with data aggregators.
  • Tailored Advertisements. VIZIO also licenses Viewing Data to select data partners to tailor the advertising you see on your VIZIO OS product or across various VIZIO and third-party platforms or devices, including other devices associated with your IP Address, device ID, email address, phone number, or VIZIO Account or Walmart account information. VIZIO or its data partners are sometimes authorized to enhance Viewing Data with household demographic data and data about digital actions (e.g., digital purchases, location, and other consumer behavior taken by devices associated with the IP Address VIZIO collects), for the purpose of delivering advertising that is likely to be useful or timely, including during broadcast, cable, satellite, or internet-based television programming.
  • Marketing. VIZIO may use Viewing Data for other marketing purposes, including sending you emails and text messages about products, events, promotions and offers from VIZIO, partners or advertisers (where you have given your separate consent to receive emails and text messages).

VIZIO may combine information about you (including Activity Data, Viewing Data, Mobile Streaming Data, or Mobile App Data) with other information that you provide to VIZIO or Walmart (e.g., your email address, phone number or other VIZIO or Walmart account information) in order to provide you with a more personalized experience on your VIZIO OS product or your VIZIO Mobile App. For example, VIZIO may use this information to market VIZIO’s products and services and recommend content. VIZIO may also use this information to improve or modify its goods and services to better meet VIZIO’s customers’ needs.

VIZIO may also match your data with VIZIO’s partners’ data to help market VIZIO’s products or services to you and/or to provide advertising tailored to your individual interests based on your viewing history or how you browse and shop online.

REMINDER: You always have the option to manage the collection and future use of Viewing Data in your VIZIO OS product’s Settings menu. However, for a period of time you may continue to see tailored ads on other devices that were targeted based on Viewing Data that was shared before you turned off collection. Disabling the Viewing Data feature in the Settings Menu will not, however, affect or limit Activity Data collection through VIZIO OS product, which is used to personalize and recommend content within the VIZIO OS product or Mobile App. If you intend to sell or otherwise give away your VIZIO OS product, you should perform a “factory reset.”

At any time after setting up your TV, you can enable or disable the collection and usage of Viewing Data on your VIZIO OS product by directing your remote to All Settings > Privacy & Legal > Viewing Data. On older TVs, you may direct your remote to All Settings > Admin & Privacy > Viewing Data.

How Does VIZIO Protect Viewing Data?

VIZIO uses reasonable physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect personal information. No system is 100% secure. You can help by using strong passwords and keeping your devices and networks secure.

How Can I Turn Off or On the Viewing Data Feature?

At any time, you may turn Viewing Data off or on directly from the menu of your VIZIO OS product. Turning Viewing Data off will not affect the performance of your VIZIO OS product but will trigger the deletion of historical logs of Viewing Data for the VIZIO OS product from VIZIO’s database.

If you sign in to your VIZIO OS product with a Walmart account that has opted out of the sale/sharing of personal information (including for targeted advertising), we will honor the opt-out by not selling or sharing your Viewing Data on your account-linked VIZIO OS products if they have the latest firmware supporting this feature. Your Viewing Data will still be collected unless you toggle off Viewing Data collection on your VIZIO OS products.

For detailed instructions on how to turn Viewing Data off or on, visit https://www.vizio.com/en/terms/privacy-policy/ads-and-privacy-faq. If you are unable to locate the Viewing Data setting on your VIZIO OS product, contact VIZIO customer service by emailing privacy@vizio.com or calling 1-855-472-8817. Please note that if your VIZIO OS product is ever reset to factory settings, the device will return to its default settings, and Viewing Data will be reset to the “OFF” position. You may again turn the feature on by following the procedure described above.

Turning Viewing Data collection off or on will affect only the VIZIO OS product where you have made that selection. 

When you turn off the collection of Viewing Data (if it was previously turned on), logs of Viewing Data will be deleted from our database. However, even if it is turned off, VIZIO may still collect other information when you separately provide such information to VIZIO, such as when you submit a support request or participate in a promotion, and VIZIO may still collect information from other sources as described in the VIZIO Privacy Policy.