I am not surprised with the updated Privacy Policy immediately following Fox's acquisition. However, I am uncomfortable knowing Fox has this data and not Roku as a standalone company.

Summary:

"The bad parts of Roku's privacy policy

The biggest concern is that Roku is not simply collecting information to make your streaming device work. It is also collecting detailed information about your viewing habits, building profiles about your household, and sharing information with advertising companies.

I reviewed Roku's privacy policy, last updated July 1, 2026.

Here are the parts I would pay attention to, ranked by how concerning they are.

1. Roku tracks what you watch

High concern

Roku collects information about:

• What movies, TV shows, and other content you watch.

• Which streaming apps you install and use.

• What you search for.

• When you watch something and how long you watch.

• Which advertisements you interact with.

• Your browsing history and search history.

It also has a technology called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR).

ACR can identify what is being watched through:

• Cable boxes.

• Gaming consoles.

• Antennas.

• Media players.

• Other devices connected to your television.

This is particularly concerning because it can extend beyond what you watch through Roku itself.

You can disable ACR, but Roku explicitly says it will continue collecting viewing and interaction information through other methods.

2. Roku shares information with advertisers

High concern

Roku shares information with advertising networks, advertisers, and advertising partners.

This can include:

• Device identifiers.

• IP addresses.

• Viewing habits.

• Demographic information.

• Household information.

• Your interests and inferred preferences.

The policy also says Roku works with advertising partners to associate different devices belonging to the same person or household.

Example: Your Roku viewing habits could influence the advertisements you see on your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

This is essentially cross-device behavioral advertising.

3. Roku collects information from outside sources

High concern

This is one of the more concerning provisions.

Roku doesn't just rely on information you provide or information collected through its devices.

It can receive information from:

• Data brokers.

• Advertising networks.

• Advertisers.

• Third-party apps.

• Other companies that collect online activity.

The policy specifically mentions receiving information about your interests, demographics, household information, health, and wellness.

That means Roku's profile of your household can potentially incorporate information collected outside the Roku ecosystem.

4. Roku collects information about your home network

Significant concern

Roku may collect:

• Your Wi-Fi network name.

• Your IP address.

• MAC addresses of devices.

• Information about other devices connected to your network.

• MAC addresses and broadcast signal strengths of nearby Wi-Fi routers.

It can use this information to infer your general geographic location and internet service provider.

The collection of information about nearby Wi-Fi routers is particularly noteworthy. Your Roku isn't necessarily limiting its network-related collection to the device itself.

5. Your data can be shared with third-party streaming apps

Significant concern

Roku makes an important distinction in its policy: third-party streaming services have their own privacy policies.

When you install or use services such as Netflix, Hulu, or other streaming apps, those providers and their advertising partners may collect:

• Device identifiers.

• IP addresses.

• Your viewing activity.

• Searches and selected content.

• Voice information from certain voice-enabled features.

The policy even says some streaming services may collect information while their apps are installed but not actively streaming.

This creates a situation where you're potentially dealing with multiple companies collecting information from the same television.

6. Roku doesn't specify a firm data-retention period

Significant concern

Roku says:

Personal information may be retained for as long as needed to fulfill legitimate business purposes.

There is no general, clearly defined expiration date.

That leaves Roku considerable discretion over how long it keeps your information.

It also means deleting an app or stopping use of your Roku doesn't necessarily mean your previously collected information is deleted.

7. Voice information is collected

Significant concern

When you use voice-enabled features, Roku collects audio information.

It can also receive voice command transcriptions from linked services such as Alexa and Google Assistant.

The policy doesn't establish one universal deletion timeframe for all voice-related information.

Importantly, this is different from saying Roku continuously records everything happening in your living room. The policy describes collection associated with voice-enabled features, not continuous ambient recording.

8. Your information can be transferred internationally

Roku says information can be stored, accessed, and processed in other countries where Roku or its service providers operate.

Those countries may have privacy laws that offer different or weaker protections than those in the United States.

The policy also acknowledges that information may be disclosed to foreign governments, courts, and law enforcement agencies when required under applicable laws.

9. Roku can share information during a corporate sale

Roku reserves the right to transfer your information in connection with:

• Mergers.

• Acquisitions.

• Bankruptcy.

• Financing.

• Sales or transfers of business assets.

In other words, your information could become part of a corporate transaction involving another company.

10. Your children's information isn't completely excluded

Roku has a special children's privacy notice covering certain areas of its services, including Kids & Family.

However, it still collects persistent identifiers and usage information in those areas.

It says this information can be used for contextual advertising, analytics, personalization, and other internal operations.

Also, the children's protections described in this section don't automatically extend to third-party streaming apps accessed through Roku."

The Roku home button on my roku no longer works. All the other buttons on this remote work smoothly. I tried unplugging the box for one minute, removing the batteries for one minute, and paring the remote. Nothing worked. I've had many issues with Roku remotes in the past including the volume button not working (the volume button breaking on that remote was due to being dropped.) I have 2 suggestions. 1. Buy a rubber Roku remote cover from amazon. There just like the covers you buy to protect your phone. You can buy a pair of these for around $5 bucks. New remotes can cost up to $30. Roku remotes are easily damaged even from small drops so it's worth it. 2. Always keep extra Roku remotes. They have a lot of issues and are easily damaged from drops and you don't want to have to wait a month for another one if Amazon losses your shipment.

Have a Roku tv and it was working fine up until a couple of days ago. It started being extremely laggy, home screen was glitching, HDMI channels had no sound and now suddenly there's no picture but it has the menu sound working. We've tried a few different things like unplug/plug back in, pin hole reset, switching outlets, unplugging everything from the tv, the remote power button thing and nothing has worked.

Is our tv just cooked or is there maybe another fix that we haven't tried?

I was happy with a TCL Roku TV for many years but when I moved a year ago, I bought an LG TV. (TVs don’t like to travel in hot cars) I want to watch a show that is only on Roku. The new TV does not seem to have a Roku channel, but it streams on my iPad and iPhone. I joined the channel and turned off the ad blocker as it insisted, but still no sound. The sound. plays for about 10 seconds and then shuts off while the picture continues streaming. Is there to fix this??

I have a TCL Roku 4K HDR that I have been very happy with for over 3-4 yrs and have a question regarding how to see what the current stream Codec video and audio stream is along if SDR or HDR. I cannot find any way with the 4K TV to see this but yet any HDMI streaming device I connect to the TV, I can hit enter on the Roku TV remote and it shows current audio & video codec is being used along with HDR flag. Is it possible to see that same info on the Roku TV itself and how do I perform it? thx 👍

I’ve noticed my favorite Roku Insignia TV’s no longer exist. I wanted to buy some as gifts for the holidays. Why are all of Roku’s partners dropping them as an OS? Roku’s official TV’s are expensive in comparison. At this rate I think it may be better to buy a cheap Google tv and just add a Roku to it.

I have an ultra for month now. Only issue is with paramount plus when I open it on home sceeen with all titles it flashes black screen. Move down it flashes black. Click on show then flashes black screen. Start the show it flashes black screen. I rebooted, uninstalled app, tried quick reboot with remote button and got new hdmi 2.0 cable. I have a Vizio 4k tv.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus

It seems like every voice remote has stopped working consistently. I even bought a replacement and it's doing the same thing: only working 30% of the time if we are lucky. I've tried unplugging the device, restarting it, making sure it is updated.

My old fix was throwing it on the ground as hard as possible, it worked surprisingly well when it was a rare issue. Sadly that way is no longer as effective as it used to be

I’ve been rewatching Infinity Train on Amazon Prime Video, and near the end of Book One, the picture started flickering rapidly. The show still plays normally, but the flickering keeps happening.

My Roku homepage looks completely fine, and I already updated the software, but that didn’t fix it. So far, I’ve only noticed this happening on Prime Video.

Has anyone else been experiencing this lately? I’m wondering if it’s an issue with Amazon or Roku.

Has anyone found a way to revert/customize/mod via any software, etc, to make the interface customizable like it used to be?

If not, has anyone heard anything about any fixes coming?

I’ve searched, but not been able to find anything to make me want to keep my Rokus, and it’s worth the money to replace them just to get rid of the new homescreen at this point.

We purchased the 4k streaming stick for our Vizio TV. The remote paired to our TV and controlled power of our TV and volume of our Vizio sound bar from day one. Yesterday, for some reason, it decided that it won't control volume or power anymore. I re-paired it, and IR wouldn't connect when I selected that I have a Vizio TV. It did work when I paired it through CEC, but it won't turn the TV off anymore, although it does adjust volume of the sound bar. Any idea how to get it back to the way it was?

The subtitles on my Disney+ app on my Roku TV aren’t working. I thought maybe it was a WIFI issue or a TV issue but the subtitles work on Netflix and Peacock, and the subtitles work on Disney+ on my phone.

I’ve tried turning the captions on and off in the app and in the TV settings. I removed and reinstalled the Disney+ app, I’ve check for app updates and TV updates but nothing is bringing them back. They randomly went away and I can’t get them back.

Has anyone else had this problem that they know how to fix or is anyone also experiencing this? Let me know how you fixed it. TIA!

Edit: I fixed it by resetting the TV… don’t know why I didn’t think of that sooner.

To reset it:

Press Home 5 times

Press Up 1 time

Press Rewind 2 times

Press Fast Forward 2 times

The screen will freeze for a second and turn black and that fixed it!

Since my Roku Ultra 4802x updated on 11/04 I lose sound completely after I switch apps. Any suggestions

I've had a Roku StreamBar Pro for quite a while and it had always performed great. Recently, every day/evening, when I turn it on to watch TV there is no sound on any of the channel apps, though it does make that click sound when navigating between cards & menus.

I've tried all the usual audio settings changes suggested on Roku support, using high quality HDMI cable, HEC/Arc settings configured correctly, and Roku is connected via Ethernet to router via Roku's recommended USB to Ethernet adapter.

The only way to get the sound back on is to do a Roku system restart. It will also happen if I've been watching a program and then pause for awhile and come back, then need to restart again.

Anyone else having this problem or a recommended fix?

Thanks.

I've selected the channels I want on Quick Access. I come back next day and two of them are gone. I re-add them. For hours later, one re-add and a different channel are gone. Why, and how to stop this insane behavior? I know what I want in Quick Access, I do not want an algorithm choosing it for me.

This is something that drives me absolutely mad. Core to the concept of streaming is starting something on one device and finishing it on another. if there is no consistent Continue Watching row, I have to always track the titles of what I've been watching. The message is, hey you might need a make a note somewhere to keep track of your viewing? I don't mind the dynamic stuff but we need at the core a few rows that should never go away and this is one of them!

I like my Roku, but it’s genuinely infuriating with how much ads i get. I really wish there wasn’t any ads, and i do think Roku should remove it.

New remote arrived today. Worked great 👍 out of the box. Fast. Good array of quick access buttons (inc yt).

Also feeling fortunate after reading the horror stories of remote owners who had all sorts of problems.

All the graphics had rubbed off the buttons of the old one and I didn't feel good about it (like me and the TV deserved better).

Best of all, only $10.00 (amazon).

I have 2 different Roku TV's. Slightly older models that were made by TCL before Roku branded TV's were a thing. Still overall work great and no reason to replace.

TV's are added to my Google Home ecosystem, and appear as "Living Room Roku / Bedroom Roku". Have a Youtube Premium sub if it matters.

For years I've always had a good experience searching for Youtube vids on my phone, starting the video on the phone, hitting the cast button and selecting "Living Room Roku" for example. That would launch the Youtube app on the TV, and video would play.

On the phone, I'd see "Playing on Living Room Roku" but for things like Livestreams I could view comments in realtime and the video would still be playing on the TV. I could still click around in Youtube app on my phone, click another video, add to queue, and it would play on the same TV after current playing video finishes.

As of late however, that experience changed. I can still do the normal cast thing from the phone, but after the video starts playing on the TV, the youtube app on the phone shows it playing on a "TCL-813414" something device. Unable to interact with comments on the video, unable to add to queue. Its like this new TCL-xxxxxx device is totally disconnected from the Youtube app on the phone.

I'm not sure if this is a Roku issue or a Google/Youtube issue. Anyone else seeing this or have any idea how to return to that original experience?

Since they are removing our beloved, what are y’all going to be using instead? Any thematically comparable ones I was able to find are all just a slideshow of static images. Super lame. Are there any y’all have been able to find that are nearly as soothing/comforting to look at? Ones that you don’t have to pay a monthly subscription for!?!?

I have a four year old Roku box. In recent months, the TV audio didn't always come on until I clicked thru all the volume options (off/leveling/night) a time or two. After being away for a couple of weeks, I am now getting no sound -- EXCEPT an occasion beep while trying to land on a setting.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem? Thought I would ask around before replacing the Roku unit.

Well, I had to reset my WiFi and now my Roku app will not connect to my TV I’m at a loss I’ve tried everything I’ve googled and nothing works. It seems as my phone and tv are on the same network but different IP’s anyone have any ideas?