Documented privacy settings and DNS filtering guidance for smart TVs running VIDAA, plus offline tools to inspect DNS logs. The aim is to reduce ads and telemetry without rooting or changing firmware. One owner-reported DNS-filtering session is logged (Hisense 65A67H); no model has a completed settings session yet. Menu availability and results depend on the model, region and firmware; see TESTING.md.
Clean Your TV and similar tools disable packages over ADB. VIDAA has no ADB, no sideloading and no reachable package list, so that approach cannot be ported: Clean Your TV's Hisense compatibility page lists sets running VIDAA OS as not covered because the tool needs Android, and the justatv.eu VIDAA guide reaches the same conclusion - with no ADB on VIDAA, cleanup means settings and network filtering, not package tools. A port would not be an adaptation, it would be a different tool. This is that tool.
VIDAA sets have no debug bridge, so the cleanup happens where the system does allow it: in the TV's own settings and on the network the TV talks to.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Settings | Use the remote to find documented content-recognition, usage-data and advertising-personalization settings. Availability and effects need verification on your TV; note original values so you can revert. |
| Filter | A DNS filter on your network stops ad and telemetry domains from resolving. The TV itself is never modified. |
| Observe | The filter's query log shows what your TV actually talks to, so new block rules come from evidence, not guesses. |
No root, no firmware changes, nothing installed on the TV, and everything can be undone.
| You have | Do this |
|---|---|
| Just the remote | docs/01-on-device-settings.md - about five minutes; local settings you can change back. |
| An always-on computer or Raspberry Pi | Add docs/02-dns-filtering.md and docs/03-observing-dns.md. |
| A VIDAA TV you are cleaning for the first time | Follow docs/05-first-hardware-session.md and log what you see. |
Try the offline synthetic example without a TV, router, credentials or network access.
| Part | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Content recognition off | Turns off the documented content-recognition setting. Its exact scope and effect depend on firmware and remain unverified on the target TV. |
| Advertising personalization setting | Ads can still appear. The documented personalization toggle can be disabled; its effect has not been verified on the target TV. |
| A cleaner home screen (DNS route) | The upstream blocklist author reports recommendation rows, promo tiles and VIDAA Free promos gone, with YouTube and Netflix intact. |
| A test log, not promises | TESTING.md records exactly what was verified, on which model and when. Nothing else is claimed. |
Intended for TVs running VIDAA, including sets marketed with HomeOS branding. Check your actual operating system, region and firmware rather than relying on the brand alone. The table describes documentation coverage, not a compatibility certification.
| Platform | Documentation and verification status |
|---|---|
| Hisense VIDAA | All three routes are documented. The upstream author reports DNS results on Hisense sets in Europe; one owner-reported DNS session on a 65A67H is logged in TESTING.md. Settings paths are not yet verified on a Hisense model. |
| Toshiba VIDAA | Settings and DNS routes are documented; menu paths and results still await the first logged Toshiba 50UV1553DB session. |
| Android TV / Google TV sets, including Hisense models that actually run Android | You want Clean Your TV instead - this project does not apply to Android. |
| Samsung (Tizen), LG (webOS) | Different systems entirely; nothing here applies. |
Per-model pages live under docs/tv/: Toshiba 50UV1553DB and Hisense VIDAA.
Start with FAQ.md if you are deciding whether any of this is for you.
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|---|
| docs/01-on-device-settings.md | Route 1: the reversible settings pass |
| docs/02-dns-filtering.md | Route 2: DNS filtering setup, options and honest warnings |
| docs/03-observing-dns.md | Route 3: observing DNS and building your own rules |
| docs/04-local-control-mqtt.md | Note on the local MQTT control interface |
| docs/05-first-hardware-session.md | Protocol for the first real cleanup session |
| TROUBLESHOOTING.md | When something breaks or does not match the docs |
- No ADB, no APK sideloading, no launcher replacement, no package disabling. VIDAA does not offer any of these.
- No firmware modification, no factory or service menus, no rooting. Those risk bricking the set and voiding the warranty.
- No invented APIs. Every step is either a documented on-device setting or standard network administration.
- Gathin23/cleanyourtv (MIT) - ADB-based cleanup for Android TV / Google TV. Not compatible with VIDAA. Inspiration for the goal; none of the code. Since v3.1.0 it ships a non-Android cleanup guide whose VIDAA steps come from the official VIDAA U5/U6/U9 manuals, and its showcase lists this project as the VIDAA route.
- ipanalytics/Hisense-VIDAA-DNS-Clean-TV-Blocklist (Apache-2.0) - the blocklist this project subscribes to: 137 active rules observed on real Hisense VIDAA sets in Europe. We do not copy the list; we point at it and keep a small supplement for domains observed on other VIDAA brands.
- warrenrees/ha_vidaatv (MIT) - Home Assistant integration that talks to VIDAA TVs over MQTT with on-screen PIN pairing, and lists some Toshiba VIDAA sets as supported. See docs/04-local-control-mqtt.md.
- justatv.eu VIDAA cleanup guide and the official VIDAA OS privacy policy - sources for the settings paths in docs/01.
python3 scripts/test_classify_dns_log.py -v runs the offline test suite (stdlib only). CI runs it, plus a syntax and duplicate validation of the supplement blocklist and a check that internal documentation links resolve, on every push and pull request across Python 3.10-3.14.
Reports from other VIDAA models are the most useful contribution right now - see CONTRIBUTING.md for the verification rule and what a first-session report needs. Changes are recorded in CHANGELOG.md.
Nothing here is claimed as tested on a specific model until it appears in TESTING.md with a date and a firmware version. The current target device is a Toshiba 50UV1553DB (VIDAA, Europe). Per-model pages live in docs/tv/. Until that first session is logged, treat every menu name as "wording varies - read the privacy section".
MIT for original content (see LICENSE). Third-party projects keep their own licenses (see NOTICE.md).