LG ThinQ's New Terms Limit User Rights, Expand Data Use
20 Jul 2026
LG has rolled out a new terms of use policy for its ThinQ app, and users must accept it to keep using the service. The update tightens dispute resolution options for users while expanding LG's rights over user data and content—a combination that's worth a close read for any founder building connected products.
What's changing
According to the terms, LG ThinQ users must now accept the new policy to continue app access. Key provisions include:
- Arbitration only, no opt-out. Most disputes must go through individual arbitration rather than court, jury trial, or class action. Claims generally must be brought within one year.
- Broad content licensing. LG receives a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, worldwide license to use, modify, sublicense, and commercially exploit user content for any purpose—without payment.
- No privacy expectation for in-app communications. The terms state users have no expectation of privacy for in-app chat, text, or voice communications.
- Voice recording of bystanders. Voice-enabled LG products may record and analyze family members, children, guests, and bystanders—not just the account holder.
- Third-party AI use. Third-party AI systems may rely on data generated from LG product use and services, though the report notes no specifics on which systems or how data is used.
- Marketing consent bundled with service. Using the app requires consenting to marketing communications, including email, texts, calls, automated or prerecorded messages, and push notifications, alongside targeted third-party advertising.
- Capped liability. For many claims, liability is capped at the greater of the transaction amount, $100, or a statutory remedy. The terms also broadly exclude responsibility for lost data and unauthorized access.
- Silent updates. LG may push over-the-air updates without further consent and can change or discontinue features at its discretion.
What's missing
The report flags several open questions: there's no information on when the terms take effect or how long users have to accept them, what happens if a user declines, which third-party AI systems receive data, whether the terms vary by region, or how the "perpetual, irrevocable" content license might actually be exercised in practice.
Why founders should care
For early-stage teams building IoT, smart-home, or consumer AI products, LG's terms likely signal broader industry patterns rather than an isolated case. A few implications are worth weighing:
- Arbitration and liability caps may be becoming a default template. Founders drafting their own terms of service should benchmark against this pattern—but broad exclusions and low liability caps ($100 floor here) could also invite regulatory or reputational scrutiny down the line.
- Bundling marketing consent with service access carries risk. This practice, as seen in LG's terms, could plausibly draw regulatory attention in jurisdictions with stricter consent rules—something founders may want to avoid replicating without legal review.
- Multi-user voice data collection needs clear consent design. Products that record bystanders, children, or guests without their direct consent create third-party privacy exposure that could matter more as smart-home and voice-enabled products proliferate.
- Broad content licenses may attract scrutiny. A perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to commercially exploit user content—without compensation—may increasingly be viewed as a competitive or reputational liability rather than a neutral industry standard.
The opportunity angle
The report suggests this shift could open room for competitors: startups offering clearer privacy terms, opt-out-friendly dispute resolution, or transparent data-ownership policies may find a market edge. There may also be growing demand for consumer advocacy tools or terms-of-service transparency services, as users and founders alike grapple with increasingly dense legal agreements bundled into everyday app use.
No conflicting reports were identified in the source material for this story.