streaming

Hulu’s days look numbered, but there’s reason for Disney to keep it around

Disney, Hulu, streaming, Tech / Shannon Garcia / August 7, 2025

“When we gave people an opportunity to have a more seamless experience between Disney+ and Hulu, we saw engagement increasing,” Iger said today. “And we would hope that when we take this next step, which is basically full integration, that that engagement will go up even more.”

The initial integration of Hulu, which previously used a different tech platform than the 12-year-younger Disney+ app, required the reworking of “everything from login tools to advertising platforms, to metadata and personalization systems,” as well as moving over 100,000 individual assets/artwork, The Verge reported in March. At the time, Disney said that it was still working on re-encoding all of Hulu’s video files to work on Disney+ so that there could be one master library.

The updated app coming in 2026 seems to be the culmination of all this work. Iger also pointed to work around the app’s recommendations, including what users see on the Disney+ homepage. Additionally, the app has added more streams, such as one that plays The Simpsons 24/7.

The updated app also follows Disney’s purchase of Comcast’s remaining stake in Hulu. (Disney ended up paying about $9 billion for it, compared to the approximately $14 billion that Comcast wanted.)

During today’s earnings call, Iger said the updated user experience will help the profitability and margins of Disney’s streaming business (which also includes ESPN+) by boosting engagement, reducing subscriber churn, increasing advertising revenue, and driving operational efficiencies.

Hulu still has value

It seems likely that Disney will eventually strive for everyone to subscribe to a beefed-up Disney+ that incorporates stuff that used to be on Hulu. But there’s also value in keeping Hulu around for a while.

According to Disney’s Q3 2025 earnings report [PDF], Hulu has 55.5 million subscribers. That makes Hulu less than half the size of Disney+ (127.8 million subscribers), but it also means that ending Hulu subscriptions would put Disney at risk of losing millions of streaming subscribers. Today, though, it already makes little financial sense to buy standalone subscriptions to Disney+ or Hulu. A subscription starts at $10 per month for each app. A subscription to a Disney+ and Hulu bundle is only $11/month. Of course, Disney could change how it prices its streaming services at any time.

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These are the best streaming services you aren’t watching

culture, Features, streaming, Tech / 9u50fv / August 4, 2025

Discover movies and shows you’ve never seen before.

If you’ve seen The Office enough to know which episode this is, it may be time to stream something new. Credit: NBCUniversal

We all know how to find our favorite shows and blockbuster films on mainstream streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+. But even as streaming has opened the door to millions of hours of on-demand entertainment, it can still feel like there’s nothing fresh or exciting to watch anymore.

If you agree, it’s time to check out some of the more niche streaming services available, where you can find remarkable content unlikely to be available elsewhere.

This article breaks down the best streaming services you likely aren’t watching. From cinematic masterpieces to guilty pleasures, these services offer refreshing takes on streaming that make online content bingeing feel new again.

Curiosity Stream

Host James Burke pointing to puffs of smoke rising from the ground in the distance — James Burke points to puffs of smoke rising from the ground in Curiosity Stream’s *Connections* reboot. Credit: Curiosity Stream

These days, it feels like facts are getting harder to come by. Curiosity Stream‘s focus on science, history, research, and learning is the perfect antidote to this problem. The streaming service offers documentaries to people who love learning and are looking for a reliable source of educational media with no sensationalism or political agendas.

Curiosity Stream is $5 per month or $40 per year for an ad-free, curated approach to documentary content. Launched in 2015 by Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks, the service offers “more new films and shows every week” and has pledged to produce even more original content.

It has been a while since cable channels like Discovery or The History Channel have been regarded as reputable documentary distributors. You can find swaths of so-called documentaries on other streaming services, especially Amazon Prime Video, but finding a quality documentary on mainstream streaming services often requires sifting through conspiracy theories, myths, and dubious arguments.

Curiosity Stream boasts content from respected names like James Burke, Brian Greene, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Among Curiosity Stream’s most well-known programs are Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places, a News and Documentary Emmy Award winner; David Attenborough’s Light on Earth, a Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival award winner; Secrets of the Solar System, a News & Documentary Emmy Award nominee; and the currently trending Ancient Engineering: Middle East.

Curiosity Stream doesn’t regularly report subscriber numbers, but it said in March 2023 that it had 23 million subscribers. In May, parent company CuriosityStream, which also owns Curiosity University, the Curiosity Channel linear TV channel, and an original programming business, reported its first positive net income ($0.3 million) in its fiscal Q1 2025 earnings.

That positive outcome followed a massive price hike that saw subscription fees double in March 2023. So if you decide to subscribe to Curiosity Stream, keep an eye on pricing.

Mubi

Demi Moore looking into a mirror and wearing a red dress and red lipstick in The Substance. — *The Substance* was a breakout hit for Mubi in 2024. Credit: Mubi/YouTube

Mubi earned street cred in 2024 as the distributor behind the Demi Moore-starring film The Substance. But like Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle, there’s more than meets the eye with this movie-focused streaming service, which has plenty of art-house films.

Mubi costs $15 per month or $120 per year for ad-free films. For $20 per month or $168 per year, subscriptions include a “hand-picked cinema ticket every single week,” according to Mubi, in select cities. Previous tickets have included May December, The Boy and the Heron, and The Taste of Things.

Don’t expect a bounty of box office blockbusters or superhero films on Mubi. Instead, the spotlight is on critically acclaimed award-winning films that are frequently even more obscure than what you’d find on The Criterion Channel streaming service. Save for the occasional breakout hits (like The Substance, Twin Peaks, and Frances Ha), you can expect to find many titles you’ve never heard of before. That makes the service a potential windfall for movie aficionados who feel like they’ve seen it all.

Browsing Mubi’s library is like uncovering a hidden trove of cinema. The service’s UI eases the discovery process by cleanly displaying movies’ critic and user reviews, among other information. Mubi also produces Notebook, a daily publication of thoughtful, passionate editorials about film.

Further differentiating Mubi from other streaming services is its community; people can make lists of content that other users can follow (like “Hysterical in a Floral Dress,” a list of movies featuring females showcasing “intense creative outbursts/hysteria/debauchery”), which helps viewers find content, including shows and films outside of Mubi, that will speak to them.

Mubi claims to have 20 million registered users and was recently valued at $1 billion. The considerable numbers suggest that Mubi may be on its way to being the next A24.

Hoopla

The online and on-demand convenience of streaming services often overshadows libraries as a source of movies and TV shows. Not to be left behind, thousands of branches of the ever-scrappy public library system currently offer on-demand video streaming and online access to eBooks, audiobooks, comic books, and music via Hoopla, which launched in 2013. Streaming from Hoopla is free if you have a library card from a library that supports the service, and it brings simplicity and affordability back to streaming.

You don’t pay for the digital content you borrow via Hoopla, but your library does. Each library that signs a deal with Hoopla (the company says there are about 11,500 branches worldwide) individually sets the number of monthly “borrows” library card holders are entitled to, which can be in the single digits or greater. Additionally, each borrow is limited to a certain number of days, which varies by title and library.

Libraries choose which titles they’d like to offer patrons, and Hoopla is able to distribute content through partnerships with content distributors, such as Paramount. Cat Zappa, VP of digital acquisition at Hoopla Digital, told Ars Technica that Hoopla has “over 2.5 million pieces of content” and “about 75,000 to 80,000 pieces of video” content. The service currently has “over” 10 million users, she said.

Hoopla has a larger library with more types of content available than Kanopy, a free streaming service for libraries that offers classic, independent, and documentary movies. For a free service, Hoopla’s content selection isn’t bad, but it isn’t modern. It’s strongest when it comes to book-related content; its e-book and audiobook catalogue, for example, includes popular titles like Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games prequel, and Rebecca Yarros’ Onyx Storm 2, plus everything from American classics to 21st-century manga titles.

There’s a decent selection of movies based on books, like Jack Reacher, The Godfather series, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Crucible, Clueless, and The Rainmaker, to name a few out of the 759 offered to partnering libraries. Perusing Hoopla’s older titles recalls some of the fun of visiting a physical library, giving you access to free media that you might never have tried otherwise.

Many libraries don’t offer Hoopla, though. The service is a notable cost for libraries, which have to pay Hoopla a fee every time something is borrowed. Hoopla gives some of that money to the content distributor and keeps the rest. Due to budget constraints, some libraries are unable to support streaming via Hoopla’s pay-per-use model.

Hoopla acknowledges the budget challenges that libraries face and offers various budgeting tools, Zappa told Ars, adding, “Not every library patron has the ability to… go into the library as frequently as they’d like to engage with content. Digital streaming allows another easy and efficient opportunity to still get patrons engaged with the library but… from where it’s most convenient for them in certain cases.”

Dropout

The Internet brings the world to our fingertips, but I’ve repeatedly used it to rewatch episodes of The Office. If that sounds like you, Dropout could be just what you need to (drop)kick you out of your comedic funk.

Dropout costs $7 per month or $70 per year. It’s what remains of the website CollegeHumor, which launched in 1999. It was acquired by US holding company IAC in 2006 and was shuttered by IAC in 2020. Dropout mostly has long-form, unscripted comedy series. Today, it features 11 currently running shows, plus nine others. Dropout’s biggest successes are a wacky game show called Game Changer and Dimension 20, a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game show that also has live events.

Dropout is for viewers seeking a novel and more communal approach to comedy that doesn’t rely on ads, big corporate sponsorships, or celebrities to make you smile.

IAC first launched Dropout under the CollegeHumor umbrella in 2018 before selling CollegeHumor to then-chief creative officer Sam Reich in 2020. In 2023, Reich abandoned the CollegeHumor name. He said that by then, Dropout’s brand recognition had surpassed that of CollegeHumor.

Dropout has survived with a limited budget and staff by relying on “less expensive, more personality-based stuff,” Reich told Vulture in late 2023. The service is an unlikely success story in a streaming industry dominated by large corporations. IAC reportedly bought CollegeHumor for $26 million and sold it to Reich for no money. In late 2023, Reich told Variety that Dropout was “between seven and 10 times the size that we were when IAC dropped us, from an audience perspective.” At the time, Dropout’s subscriber count was in the “mid-hundreds of thousands,” according to Reich.

Focusing on improvisational laughs, Dropout’s energetic content forgoes the comedic comfort zones of predictable network sitcoms—and even some offbeat scripted originals. A biweekly (or better) release schedule keeps the fun flowing.

In 2023, Reich pointed to the potential for $1 price hikes “every couple of years.” But Dropout also appears to limit revenue goals, further differentiating it from other streaming services. In 2023, Reich told Vulture, “When we talk about growth, I really think there’s such a thing as being unhealthily ambitious. I don’t believe in unfettered capitalism. The question is, ‘How can we do this in such a way that we honor the work of everyone involved, we create work that we’re really proud of, and we continue to appeal to our audience first?'”

Midnight Pulp

Bruce Li doing a leaping kick in Fist of Fury. — Bruce Li in *Fist of Fury*. Credit: Fighting Cinema/YouTube

Mark this one under “guilty pleasures.”

Midnight Pulp isn’t for the faint of heart or people who consider movie watching a serious endeavor. It has a broad selection of outrageous content that often leans on exploitation films with cult followings, low budgets, and excessive, unrealistic, or grotesque imagery.

I first found Midnight Pulp as a free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel built into my smart TV’s operating system. But it’s also available as a subscription-based on-demand service for $6 per month or $60 per year. I much prefer the random selection that Midnight Pulp’s FAST channel delivers. Unlike on Mubi, where you can peruse a bounty of little-known yet well-regarded titles, there’s a good reason you haven’t heard of much of the stuff on Midnight Pulp.

But as the service’s slogan (Stream Something Strange) and name suggest, Midnight Pulp has an unexpected, surreal way of livening up a quiet evening or dull afternoon. Its bold content often depicts a melodramatic snapshot of a certain aspect of culture from a specific time. Midnight Pulp introduced me to Class of 1984, for example, a movie featuring a young Michael J. Fox enrolled in a wild depiction of the ’80s public school system.

There’s also a robust selection of martial arts movies, including Bruce Li’s Fist of Fury (listed under the US release title Chinese Connection). It’s also where I saw Kung Fu Traveler, a delightful Terminator ripoff that introduced me to one of Keanu Reeves’ real-life pals, Tiger Chen. Midnight Pulp’s FAST channel is where I discovered one of the most striking horror series I’ve seen in years, Bloody Bites, an anthology series with an eerie, intimate, and disturbing tone that evolves with each episode. (Bloody Bites is an original series from horror streaming service ScreamBox.)

Los Angeles-based entertainment company Cineverse (formerly Cinedigm and Access IT Digital Media Inc.) owns Midnight Pulp and claims to have “over 150 million unique monthly users” and over 71,000 movies, shows, and podcasts across its various streaming services, including Midnight Pulp, ScreamBox, RetroCrush, and Fandor.

Many might stick their noses up at Midnight Pulp’s selection, and in many cases, they’d be right to do so. It isn’t always tasteful, but it’s never boring. If you’re feeling daring and open to shocking content worthy of conversation, give Midnight Pulp a try.

Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She’s been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.

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Netflix’s first show with generative AI is a sign of what’s to come in TV, film

AI, generative ai, netflix, streaming, Tech / Shannon Garcia / July 19, 2025

Netflix used generative AI in an original, scripted series that debuted this year, it revealed this week. Producers used the technology to create a scene in which a building collapses, hinting at the growing use of generative AI in entertainment.

During a call with investors yesterday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that Netflix’s Argentine show The Eternaut, which premiered in April, is “the very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix, Inc. original series or film.” Sarandos further explained, per a transcript of the call, saying:

The creators wanted to show a building collapsing in Buenos Aires. So our iLine team, [which is the production innovation group inside the visual effects house at Netflix effects studio Scanline], partnered with their creative team using AI-powered tools. … And in fact, that VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with visual, traditional VFX tools and workflows. And, also, the cost of it would just not have been feasible for a show in that budget.

Sarandos claimed that viewers have been “thrilled with the results”; although that likely has much to do with how the rest of the series, based on a comic, plays out, not just one, AI-crafted scene.

More generative AI on Netflix

Still, Netflix seems open to using generative AI in shows and movies more, with Sarandos saying the tech “represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper.”

“Our creators are already seeing the benefits in production through pre-visualization and shot planning work and, certainly, visual effects,” he said. “It used to be that only big-budget projects would have access to advanced visual effects like de-aging.”

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Longer commercial breaks lower the value of ad-based streaming subscriptions

ads, max, streaming, Tech, warner bros. discovery / 9u50fv / June 20, 2025

But that old promise to HBO Max subscribers hasn’t carried over to Max, even though WBD is renaming Max to HBO Max this summer. As PCWorld noted, Max has been showing ads during HBO original content like The Last of Us. The publication reported seeing three ad breaks during the show in addition to ads before the show started.

Ars Technica reached out to WBD for comment about these changes but didn’t receive a response ahead of publication.

Depleting value

With numerous streaming services launching over the past few years, many streaming customers have been pushed to subscribe to multiple streaming services to have access to all of the shows and movies that they want. Streaming providers also regularly increase subscription fees and implement password crackdowns, and ad-based subscriptions were supposed to offer a cheaper way to stream.

Streaming providers forcing subscribers to watch more commercials risk depleting the value of ad-based streaming tiers. Online, for example, people are questioning the value of their ad-based Max subscriptions, which start at $10 per month, compared to $17/month for ad-free Max.

“I don’t how it could be worse. I watched several HBO documentaries, and they already had more adverts than Pluto TV [a free, ad-supported streaming service]. The kids programs for Cartoon Network started out with few adverts, but they have been loading up on adverts,” a Reddit user said in response to Max showing more ads.

Another Reddit user said that “if [Max] has ads, it shouldn’t be $10/month.”

Beyond Max, PCWorld cited MediaRadar data finding that Disney+ shows over 5.3 minutes of ads per hour, and Hulu shows over seven minutes of commercials hourly.

Such lengthy commercial breaks can extend past a convenient snack or bathroom break and force subscribers to consider the value of their time and how much time they want to allocate to get through a 22-minute program, for example.

With linear TV reportedly showing 13 to 16 minutes of commercials per hour, though, streaming providers still have space to show even more ads while still claiming that they show fewer ads than alternatives.

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Smart TV OS owners face “constant conflict” between privacy, advertiser demands

ads, privacy, samsung, Software, streaming, Tech, TVs / DJ Henderson / June 19, 2025

DENVER—Most smart TV operating system (OS) owners are in the ad sales business now. Software providers for budget and premium TVs are honing their ad skills, which requires advancing their ability to collect user data. This is creating an “inherent conflict” within the industry, Takashi Nakano, VP of content and programming at Samsung TV Plus, said at the StreamTV Show in Denver last week.

During a panel at StreamTV Insider’s conference entitled “CTV OS Leader Roundtable: From Drivers to Engagement and Content Strategy,” Nakano acknowledged the opposing needs of advertisers and smart TV users, who are calling for a reasonable amount of data privacy.

“Do you want your data sold out there and everyone to know exactly what you’ve been watching … the answer is generally no,” the Samsung executive said. “Yet, advertisers want all of this data. They wanna know exactly what you ate for breakfast.”

Nakano also suggested that the owners of OSes targeting smart TVs and other streaming hardware, like streaming sticks, are inundated with user data that may not actually be that useful or imperative to collect:

I think that there’s inherent conflict in the ad ecosystem supplying so much data. … We’re fortunate to have all that data, but we’re also like, ‘Do we really want to give it all, and hand it all out?’ There’s a constant conflict around that, right? So how do we create an ecosystem where we can serve ads that are pretty good? Maybe it’s not perfect …

Today, connected TV (CTV) OSes are largely built around not just gathering user data, but also creating ways to collect new types of information about viewers in order to deliver more relevant, impactful ads. LG, for example, recently announced that its smart TV OS, webOS, will use a new AI model that informs ad placement based on viewers’ emotions and personal beliefs.

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Netflix will start showing traditional broadcast channels next summer

Europe, france, netflix, streaming, Tech / Beth Washington / June 18, 2025

In a move that further intensifies the reflection of the cable business it’s slowly killing, Netflix will start showing broadcast channels next summer.

The world’s largest streaming provider announced today that starting next year, all Netflix subscribers in France will be able to watch broadcast channels from TF1 Group, France’s biggest commercial broadcaster, which also owns streaming services and creates content. Financial Times (FT) reported that users will be able to watch all five TF1 linear channels.

Netflix’s French customers will also gain access to “more than 30,000 hours” of on-demand TF1 content in the summer of 2026, FT reported. TF1’s content selection includes scripted dramas, reality shows like The Voice, and live sports.

Before this announcement, Netflix and TF1 were already “creative partners,” according to Netflix, and co-produced titles like Les Combattantes, a French historical miniseries whose title translates to Women at War.

The companies didn’t disclose financial details of the deal.

Traditional media’s unlikely savior

In a statement, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters highlighted the TF1 deal as a driver of subscriber engagement, a focus that Netflix will increasingly emphasize with investors following its recent decision to stop sharing subscriber counts. Netflix claims to have “over” 300 million subscribers.

“By teaming up with France’s leading broadcaster, we will provide French consumers with even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and to stay with us for all their entertainment,” Peters said.

Meanwhile, TF1 gains advertising opportunities, as the commercials its channels show will likely attract more eyeballs in the form of Netflix subscribers.

“As viewing habits shift toward on-demand consumption and audience fragmentation increases, this unprecedented alliance will enable our premium content to reach unparalleled audiences and unlock new reach for advertisers within an ecosystem that perfectly complements our TF1+ [streaming] platform,” Rodolphe Belmer, CEO of TF1 Group, said in a statement.

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Inside the firm turning eerie blank streaming ads into useful nonprofit messages

ads, smart tvs, streaming, Tech / Shannon Garcia / June 14, 2025

AdGood’s offerings also include a managed service for ad campaign management for nonprofits. AdGood doesn’t yet offer pixels, but Johns said developments like that are “in the works.”

Johns explained that while many nonprofits use services like Meta and Google AdWords for tracking ads, they’re “hitting plateaus” with their typical methods. He said there is nonprofit interest in reaching younger audiences, who often use CTV devices:

A lot of them have been looking for ways to get [into CTV ads], but, unfortunately, with minimum spend amounts, they’re just not able to access it.

Helping nonprofits make commercials

AdGood also sells a self-serve generative AI ad manager, which it offers via a partnership with Streamr.AI. The tool is designed to simplify the process of creating 30-second video ads that are “completely editable via a chat prompt,” according to Johns.

“It automatically generates all their targeting. They can update their targeting for whatever they want, and then they can swipe a credit card and essentially run that campaign. It goes into our approval queue, which typically takes 24 hours for us to approve because it needs to be deemed TV-quality,” he explained.

The executive said AdGood charges nonprofits a $7 CPM and a $250 flat fee for the service. He added:

Think about a small nonprofit in a local community, for instance, my son’s special needs baseball team. I can get together with five other parents, easily pull together a campaign, and run it in our local town. We get seven kids to show up, and it changes their lives. We’re talking about $250 having a massive impact in a local market.

Looking ahead, Johns said he’d like to see AdGood’s platform and team grow to be able to give every customer “a certain allocation of inventory, whether it’s 50,000 impressions a month or 100,000 a month.”

For some, streaming ads are rarely a good thing. But when those ads can help important causes and replace odd blank ad spaces that make us question our own existence, it brings new meaning to the idea of a “good” commercial.

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Amazon Prime Video subscribers sit through up to 6 minutes of ads per hour

ads, Amazon, prime video, streaming, Tech / Kelly Newman / June 12, 2025

Amazon forced all Prime Video subscribers onto a new ad-based subscription tier in January 2024 unless users paid more for their subscription type. Now, the tech giant is reportedly showing twice as many ads to subscribers as it did when it started selling ad-based streaming subscriptions.

Currently, anyone who signs up for Amazon Prime (which is $15 per month or $139 per year) gets Prime Video with ads. If they don’t want to see commercials, they have to pay an extra $3 per month. One can also subscribe to Prime Video alone for $9 per month with ads or $12 per month without ads.

When Amazon originally announced the ad tier, it said it would deliver “meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.” Based on “six ad buyers and documents” ad trade publication AdWeek reported viewing, Amazon has determined the average is four to six minutes of advertisements per hour.

“Prime Video ad load has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour,” an Amazon representative said via email to an ad buyer this month, AdWeek reported.

That would mean that Prime Video subscribers are spending significantly more time sitting through ads than they did at the launch of Prime Video with ads. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) at the time, which cited an Amazon presentation it said it reviewed, “the average ad load at launch was two to three-and-a-half minutes.” However, when reached for comment, an Amazon Ads representative told Ars Technica that the WSJ didn’t confirm that figure directly with Amazon.

Amazon’s Ads spokesperson, however, declined to specify to Ars how many ads Amazon typically shows to Prime Videos subscribers today or in the past.

Instead, they shared a statement saying:

We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume. While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we’ve announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV, and new ad formats—all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike.

Kendra Tang, programmatic supervisor at ad firm Rain the Growth Agency, told AdWeek that Amazon “told us the ad load would be increasing” and that she’s seen more ad opportunities made available in Amazon’s ad system.

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Breaking down why Apple TVs are privacy advocates’ go-to streaming device

ads, Apple, Apple TV, Apple TV Plus, Features, privacy, streaming, Tech, TVs / 9u50fv / June 1, 2025

Using the Apple TV app or an Apple account means giving Apple more data, though.

Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images

Every time I write an article about the escalating advertising and tracking on today’s TVs, someone brings up Apple TV boxes. Among smart TVs, streaming sticks, and other streaming devices, Apple TVs are largely viewed as a safe haven.

“Just disconnect your TV from the Internet and use an Apple TV box.”

That’s the common guidance you’ll hear from Ars readers for those seeking the joys of streaming without giving up too much privacy. Based on our research and the experts we’ve consulted, that advice is pretty solid, as Apple TVs offer significantly more privacy than other streaming hardware providers.

But how private are Apple TV boxes, really? Apple TVs don’t use automatic content recognition (ACR, a user-tracking technology leveraged by nearly all smart TVs and streaming devices), but could that change? And what about the software that Apple TV users do use—could those apps provide information about you to advertisers or Apple?

In this article, we’ll delve into what makes the Apple TV’s privacy stand out and examine whether users should expect the limited ads and enhanced privacy to last forever.

Apple TV boxes limit tracking out of the box

One of the simplest ways Apple TVs ensure better privacy is through their setup process, during which you can disable Siri, location tracking, and sending analytics data to Apple. During setup, users also receive several opportunities to review Apple’s data and privacy policies. Also off by default is the boxes’ ability to send voice input data to Apple.

Most other streaming devices require users to navigate through pages of settings to disable similar tracking capabilities, which most people are unlikely to do. Apple’s approach creates a line of defense against snooping, even for those unaware of how invasive smart devices can be.

Apple TVs running tvOS 14.5 and later also make third-party app tracking more difficult by requiring such apps to request permission before they can track users.

“If you choose Ask App Not to Track, the app developer can’t access the system advertising identifier (IDFA), which is often used to track,” Apple says. “The app is also not permitted to track your activity using other information that identifies you or your device, like your email address.”

Users can access the Apple TV settings and disable the ability of third-party apps to ask permission for tracking. However, Apple could further enhance privacy by enabling this setting by default.

The Apple TV also lets users control which apps can access the set-top box’s Bluetooth functionality, photos, music, and HomeKit data (if applicable), and the remote’s microphone.

“Apple’s primary business model isn’t dependent on selling targeted ads, so it has somewhat less incentive to harvest and monetize incredible amounts of your data,” said RJ Cross, director of the consumer privacy program at the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). “I personally trust them more with my data than other tech companies.”

What if you share analytics data?

If you allow your Apple TV to share analytics data with Apple or app developers, that data won’t be personally identifiable, Apple says. Any collected personal data is “not logged at all, removed from reports before they’re sent to Apple, or protected by techniques, such as differential privacy,” Apple says.

Differential privacy, which injects noise into collected data, is one of the most common methods used for anonymizing data. In support documentation (PDF), Apple details its use of differential privacy:

The first step we take is to privatize the information using local differential privacy on the user’s device. The purpose of privatization is to assure that Apple’s servers don’t receive clear data. Device identifiers are removed from the data, and it is transmitted to Apple over an encrypted channel. The Apple analysis system ingests the differentially private contributions, dropping IP addresses and other metadata. The final stage is aggregation, where the privatized records are processed to compute the relevant statistics, and the aggregate statistics are then shared with relevant Apple teams. Both the ingestion and aggregation stages are performed in a restricted access environment so even the privatized data isn’t broadly accessible to Apple employees.

What if you use an Apple account with your Apple TV?

Another factor to consider is Apple’s privacy policy regarding Apple accounts, formerly Apple IDs.

Apple support documentation says you “need” an Apple account to use an Apple TV, but you can use the hardware without one. Still, it’s common for people to log into Apple accounts on their Apple TV boxes because it makes it easier to link with other Apple products. Another reason someone might link an Apple TV box with an Apple account is to use the Apple TV app, a common way to stream on Apple TV boxes.

So what type of data does Apple harvest from Apple accounts? According to its privacy policy, the company gathers usage data, such as “data about your activity on and use of” Apple offerings, including “app launches within our services…; browsing history; search history; [and] product interaction.”

Other types of data Apple may collect from Apple accounts include transaction information (Apple says this is “data about purchases of Apple products and services or transactions facilitated by Apple, including purchases on Apple platforms”), account information (“including email address, devices registered, account status, and age”), device information (including serial number and browser type), contact information (including physical address and phone number), and payment information (including bank details). None of that is surprising considering the type of data needed to make an Apple account work.

Many Apple TV users can expect Apple to gather more data from their Apple account usage on other devices, such as iPhones or Macs. However, if you use the same Apple account across multiple devices, Apple recognizes that all the data it has collected from, for example, your iPhone activity, also applies to you as an Apple TV user.

A potential workaround could be maintaining multiple Apple accounts. With an Apple account solely dedicated to your Apple TV box and Apple TV hardware and software tracking disabled as much as possible, Apple would have minimal data to ascribe to you as an Apple TV owner. You can also use your Apple TV box without an Apple account, but then you won’t be able to use the Apple TV app, one of the device’s key features.

Data collection via the Apple TV app

You can download third-party apps like Netflix and Hulu onto an Apple TV box, but most TV and movie watching on Apple TV boxes likely occurs via the Apple TV app. The app is necessary for watching content on the Apple TV+ streaming service, but it also drives usage by providing access to the libraries of many (but not all) popular streaming apps in one location. So understanding the Apple TV app’s privacy policy is critical to evaluating how private Apple TV activity truly is.

As expected, some of the data the app gathers is necessary for the software to work. That includes, according to the app’s privacy policy, “information about your purchases, downloads, activity in the Apple TV app, the content you watch, and where you watch it in the Apple TV app and in connected apps on any of your supported devices.” That all makes sense for ensuring that the app remembers things like which episode of Severance you’re on across devices.

Apple collects other data, though, that isn’t necessary for functionality. It says it gathers data on things like the “features you use (for example, Continue Watching or Library),” content pages you view, how you interact with notifications, and approximate location information (that Apple says doesn’t identify users) to help improve the app.

Additionally, Apple tracks the terms you search for within the app, per its policy:

We use Apple TV search data to improve models that power Apple TV. For example, aggregate Apple TV search queries are used to fine-tune the Apple TV search model.

This data usage is less intrusive than that of other streaming devices, which might track your activity and then sell that data to third-party advertisers. But some people may be hesitant about having any of their activities tracked to benefit a multi-trillion-dollar conglomerate.

Data collected from the Apple TV app used for ads

By default, the Apple TV app also tracks “what you watch, your purchases, subscriptions, downloads, browsing, and other activities in the Apple TV app” to make personalized content recommendations. Content recommendations aren’t ads in the traditional sense but instead provide a way for Apple to push you toward products by analyzing data it has on you.

You can disable the Apple TV app’s personalized recommendations, but it’s a little harder than you might expect since you can’t do it through the app. Instead, you need to go to the Apple TV settings and then select Apps > TV > Use Play History > Off.

The most privacy-conscious users may wish that personalized recommendations were off by default. Darío Maestro, senior legal fellow at the nonprofit Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), noted to Ars that even though Apple TV users can opt out of personalized content recommendations, “many will not realize they can.”

Apple can also use data it gathers on you from the Apple TV app to serve traditional ads. If you allow your Apple TV box to track your location, the Apple TV app can also track your location. That data can “be used to serve geographically relevant ads,” according to the Apple TV app privacy policy. Location tracking, however, is off by default on Apple TV boxes.

Apple’s tvOS doesn’t have integrated ads. For comparison, some TV OSes, like Roku OS and LG’s webOS, show ads on the OS’s home screen and/or when showing screensavers.

But data gathered from the Apple TV app can still help Apple’s advertising efforts. This can happen if you allow personalized ads in other Apple apps serving targeted apps, such as Apple News, the App Store, or Stocks. In such cases, Apple may apply data gathered from the Apple TV app, “including information about the movies and TV shows you purchase from Apple, to serve ads in those apps that are more relevant to you,” the Apple TV app privacy policy says.

Apple also provides third-party advertisers and strategic partners with “non-personal data” gathered from the Apple TV app:

We provide some non-personal data to our advertisers and strategic partners that work with Apple to provide our products and services, help Apple market to customers, and sell ads on Apple’s behalf to display on the App Store and Apple News and Stocks.

Apple also shares non-personal data from the Apple TV with third parties, such as content owners, so they can pay royalties, gauge how much people are watching their shows or movies, “and improve their associated products and services,” Apple says.

Apple’s policy notes:

For example, we may share non-personal data about your transactions, viewing activity, and region, as well as aggregated user demographics[,] such as age group and gender (which may be inferred from information such as your name and salutation in your Apple Account), to Apple TV strategic partners, such as content owners, so that they can measure the performance of their creative work [and] meet royalty and accounting requirements.

When reached for comment, an Apple spokesperson told Ars that Apple TV users can clear their play history from the app.

All that said, the Apple TV app still shares far less data with third parties than other streaming apps. Netflix, for example, says it discloses some personal information to advertising companies “in order to select Advertisements shown on Netflix, to facilitate interaction with Advertisements, and to measure and improve effectiveness of Advertisements.”

Warner Bros. Discovery says it discloses information about Max viewers “with advertisers, ad agencies, ad networks and platforms, and other companies to provide advertising to you based on your interests.” And Disney+ users have Nielsen tracking on by default.

What if you use Siri?

You can easily deactivate Siri when setting up an Apple TV. But those who opt to keep the voice assistant and the ability to control Apple TV with their voice take somewhat of a privacy hit.

According to the privacy policy accessible in Apple TV boxes’ settings, Apple boxes automatically send all Siri requests to Apple’s servers. If you opt into using Siri data to “Improve Siri and Dictation,” Apple will store your audio data. If you opt out, audio data won’t be stored, but per the policy:

In all cases, transcripts of your interactions will be sent to Apple to process your requests and may be stored by Apple.

Apple TV boxes also send audio and transcriptions of dictation input to Apple servers for processing. Apple says it doesn’t store the audio but may store transcriptions of the audio.

If you opt to “Improve Siri and Dictation,” Apple says your history of voice requests isn’t tied to your Apple account or email. But Apple is vague about how long it may store data related to voice input performed with the Apple TV if you choose this option.

The policy states:

Your request history, which includes transcripts and any related request data, is associated with a random identifier for up to six months and is not tied to your Apple Account or email address. After six months, you request history is disassociated from the random identifier and may be retained for up to two years. Apple may use this data to develop and improve Siri, Dictation, Search, and limited other language processing functionality in Apple products …

Apple may also review a subset of the transcripts of your interactions and this … may be kept beyond two years for the ongoing improvements of products and services.

Apple promises not to use Siri and voice data to build marketing profiles or sell them to third parties, but it hasn’t always adhered to that commitment. In January, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing Siri of recording private conversations and sharing them with third parties for targeted ads. In 2019, contractors reported hearing private conversations and recorded sex via Siri-gathered audio.

Outside of Apple, we’ve seen voice request data used questionably, including in criminal trials and by corporate employees. Siri and dictation data also represent additional ways a person’s Apple TV usage might be unexpectedly analyzed to fuel Apple’s business.

Automatic content recognition

Apple TVs aren’t preloaded with automatic content recognition (ACR), an Apple spokesperson confirmed to Ars, another plus for privacy advocates. But ACR is software, so Apple could technically add it to Apple TV boxes via a software update at some point.

Sherman Li, the founder of Enswers, the company that first put ACR in Samsung TVs, confirmed to Ars that it’s technically possible for Apple to add ACR to already-purchased Apple boxes. Years ago, Enswers retroactively added ACR to other types of streaming hardware, including Samsung and LG smart TVs. (Enswers was acquired by Gracenote, which Nielsen now owns.)

In general, though, there are challenges to adding ACR to hardware that people already own, Li explained:

Everyone believes, in theory, you can add ACR anywhere you want at any time because it’s software, but because of the way [hardware is] architected… the interplay between the chipsets, like the SoCs, and the firmware is different in a lot of situations.

Li pointed to numerous variables that could prevent ACR from being retroactively added to any type of streaming hardware, “including access to video frame buffers, audio streams, networking connectivity, security protocols, OSes, and app interface communication layers, especially at different levels of the stack in these devices, depending on the implementation.”

Due to the complexity of Apple TV boxes, Li suspects it would be difficult to add ACR to already-purchased Apple TVs. It would likely be simpler for Apple to release a new box with ACR if it ever decided to go down that route.

If Apple were to add ACR to old or new Apple TV boxes, the devices would be far less private, and the move would be highly unpopular and eliminate one of the Apple TV’s biggest draws.

However, Apple reportedly has a growing interest in advertising to streaming subscribers. The Apple TV+ streaming service doesn’t currently show commercials, but the company is rumored to be exploring a potential ad tier. The suspicions stem from a reported meeting between Apple and the United Kingdom’s ratings body, Barb, to discuss how it might track ads on Apple TV+, according to a July report from The Telegraph.

Since 2023, Apple has also hired several prominent names in advertising, including a former head of advertising at NBCUniversal and a new head of video ad sales. Further, Apple TV+ is one of the few streaming services to remain ad-free, and it’s reported to be losing Apple $1 billion per year since its launch.

One day soon, Apple may have much more reason to care about advertising in streaming and being able to track the activities of people who use its streaming offerings. That has implications for Apple TV box users.

“The more Apple creeps into the targeted ads space, the less I’ll trust them to uphold their privacy promises. You can imagine Apple TV being a natural progression for selling ads,” PIRG’s Cross said.

Somewhat ironically, Apple has marketed its approach to privacy as a positive for advertisers.

“Apple’s commitment to privacy and personal relevancy builds trust amongst readers, driving a willingness to engage with content and ads alike,” Apple’s advertising guide for buying ads on Apple News and Stocks reads.

The most private streaming gadget

It remains technologically possible for Apple to introduce intrusive tracking or ads to Apple TV boxes, but for now, the streaming devices are more private than the vast majority of alternatives, save for dumb TVs (which are incredibly hard to find these days). And if Apple follows its own policies, much of the data it gathers should be kept in-house.

However, those with strong privacy concerns should be aware that Apple does track certain tvOS activities, especially those that happen through Apple accounts, voice interaction, or the Apple TV app. And while most of Apple’s streaming hardware and software settings prioritize privacy by default, some advocates believe there’s room for improvement.

For example, STOP’s Maestro said:

Unlike in the [European Union], where the upcoming Data Act will set clearer rules on transfers of data generated by smart devices, the US has no real legislation governing what happens with your data once it reaches Apple’s servers. Users are left with little way to verify those privacy promises.

Maestro suggested that Apple could address these concerns by making it easier for people to conduct security research on smart device software. “Allowing the development of alternative or modified software that can evaluate privacy settings could also increase user trust and better uphold Apple’s public commitment to privacy,” Maestro said.

There are ways to limit the amount of data that advertisers can get from your Apple TV. But if you use the Apple TV app, Apple can use your activity to help make business decisions—and therefore money.

As you might expect from a device that connects to the Internet and lets you stream shows and movies, Apple TV boxes aren’t totally incapable of tracking you. But they’re still the best recommendation for streaming users seeking hardware with more privacy and fewer ads.

Breaking down why Apple TVs are privacy advocates’ go-to streaming device Read More »

Amazon Fire Sticks enable “billions of dollars” worth of streaming piracy

Amazon, Europe, Google, microsoft, piracy, sports, streaming, Tech / Shannon Garcia / May 31, 2025

Amazon Fire Sticks are enabling “billions of dollars” worth of streaming piracy, according to a report today from Enders Analysis, a media, entertainment, and telecommunications research firm. Technologies from other media conglomerates, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook, are also enabling what the report’s authors deem an “industrial scale of theft.”

The report, “Video piracy: Big tech is clearly unwilling to address the problem,” focuses on the European market but highlights the global growth of piracy of streaming services as they increasingly acquire rights to live programs, like sporting events.

Per the BBC, the report points to the availability of multiple, simultaneous illegal streams for big events that draw tens of thousands of pirate viewers.

Enders’ report places some blame on Facebook for showing advertisements for access to illegal streams, as well as Google and Microsoft for the alleged “continued depreciation” of their digital rights management (DRM) systems, Widevine and PlayReady, respectively. Ars Technica reached out to Facebook, Google, and Microsoft for comment but didn’t receive a response before publication.

The report echoes complaints shared throughout the industry, including by the world’s largest European soccer streamer, DAZN. Streaming piracy is “almost a crisis for the sports rights industry,” DAZN’s head of global rights, Tom Burrows, said at The Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in February. At the same event, Nick Herm, COO of Comcast-owned European telecommunication firm Sky Group, estimated that piracy was costing his company “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue. At the time, Enders co-founder Claire Enders said that the pirating of sporting events accounts for “about 50 percent of most markets.”

Jailbroken Fire Sticks

Friday’s Enders report named Fire Sticks as a significant contributor to streaming piracy, calling the hardware a “piracy enabler.”

Enders’ report pointed to security risks that pirate viewers face, including providing credit card information and email addresses to unknown entities, which can make people vulnerable to phishing and malware. However, reports of phishing and malware stemming from streaming piracy, which occurs through various methods besides a Fire TV Stick, seem to be rather limited.

Amazon Fire Sticks enable “billions of dollars” worth of streaming piracy Read More »

Amid rising prices, Disney+ and Hulu offer subscribers some freebies

Disney, Disney Plus, Hulu, streaming, Tech / DJ Henderson / May 30, 2025

With streaming providers frequently raising prices, subscribers often feel like they’re paying more for the same service—or a lesser version, depending on what’s available to watch that month. In a unique move, Disney is introducing a small, potential financial benefit to Disney+ and Hulu subscribers in the form of some third-party discounts, freebies, trials, and contests.

As of today, Disney+ subscribers can log into Disney’s Disney+ Perks website with their streaming credentials to get access to a revolving selection of discounts and freebies. When I logged in today, I was met with options for several free trials, including a six-month one to DoorDash’s premium subscription offering, a three-month trial to Clear+, and a two-month trial to Duolingo’s premium subscription.

Disney+ subscribers can also get discounts, including to Adidas’ online marketplaces and “select” Disney Resorts Collection hotels (if you stay at least two nights, with most availability occurring between June 29 and July 31). There are also some free virtual rewards for Disney-owned games and the ability to enter sweepstakes, like for going to the premiere of the movie Freakier Friday.

Disney, which announced in November 2023 that it would take full control of Hulu from Comcast, said that Hulu-only subscribers will also get a perks program, starting on June 2. Those perks will differ from those of Disney+ and initially include chances to win tickets to Lollapalooza, San Diego Comic-Con, and Jimmy Kimmel Live, unspecified “perks” from Microsoft, LG, and others, and chances “to win items from and inspired by Hulu” originals, like The Handmaid’s Tale.

Amid rising prices, Disney+ and Hulu offer subscribers some freebies Read More »

Max pivots back to HBO Max as WBD rethinks ability to compete with Netflix

Discovery Plus, HBO Max, max, streaming, Tech, warner bros. discovery / DJ Henderson / May 14, 2025

Today, Zaslav and company are doing an about-face, with the CEO saying that WBD is “bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate” the streaming service’s “growth in the years ahead.”

WBD’s announcement added that “returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering.”

“It is also a testament to WBD’s willingness to keep boldly iterating its strategy and approach—leaning heavily on consumer data and insights—to best position itself for success,” the media conglomerate claimed.

“Not everything for everyone”

The announcement is a result of WBD rethinking its streaming strategy as leadership acknowledges that it failed to sell Max as an essential streaming service.

Last month, executives admitted that Max is viewed as more of an add-on service, per The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Executives said at the time that they no longer want to try to push their streaming service as something for every member of the household.

“What people want from us in a world where they’ve got Netflix and Amazon [Prime Video] are those things that differentiate us,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, told WSJ.

The strategy pivot since has included moving further away from children’s programming and some Discovery content, like shows from the Food Network and HGTV. There have also been reports of WBD exploring splitting Discovery from Max.

“We’re not fighting for the more-is-better game,” JB Perrette, WBD’s streaming president and CEO, told WSJ. “We’ll let others deal with the volume.”

In today’s announcement, Perrette doubled down on those sentiments:

We will continue to focus on what makes us unique—not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families. It’s really not subjective, not even controversial—our programming just hits different.

Max pivots back to HBO Max as WBD rethinks ability to compete with Netflix Read More »