Smart TVs increasingly arrive loaded with unwanted apps, advertising tools, and tracking software such as Automatic Content Recognition. Engadget reports that by the end of 2026, over half of households are expected to own a smart TV, and many devices come with streaming apps that owners cannot uninstall. That bloat can slow performance and raise privacy concerns.
A developer, Mert Cobanov, decided to fix this by giving the AI agent Claude full access to his Android TV and a list of debloating prompts. According to Engadget, Cobanov told Claude not to uninstall anything but to disable unused apps, shorten animations, and log its actions. He also swapped Google TV's ad-heavy home screen for the open-source FLauncher. He posted on X that his four-year-old TV now runs smoother than when it was new, and published the workflow for others to try.
Engadget is skeptical about following that example. The site notes that AI agents are prone to mistakes and may not signal uncertainty; if Claude disables a critical component, the TV could become unstable, fail to update, or become unusable. It also points out that malicious actors can tamper with prompts. The article advises that the same outcome is generally achievable manually, using developer options, cache clearing, or a launcher like FLauncher without granting an AI agent system-level access.