Make your smart TV dumb again with an AI agent
TechCrunch rounded up the trend: people point Claude Code or another agent at open-source repos like dumbtv and cleanyourtv to remove sponsored rows, ACR viewing trackers and bloat from Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV sets, often swapping in a cleaner launcher.
Source
privacyisntdead on Hacker News · 2026-10-20 · Project link
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-20.
What they did
TechCrunch rounded up the trend: people point Claude Code or another agent at open-source repos like dumbtv and cleanyourtv to remove sponsored rows, ACR viewing trackers and bloat from Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV sets, often swapping in a cleaner launcher.
Result (as claimed)
Reported by TechCrunch on Oct 19; it notes one user bricked an Android TV and another got stuck on a Fire TV, so back up the package list first.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: from $17/mo; Claude Opus 5.5: from $4 in / $20 out per 1M tokens.
Set it up
Define the job
Say exactly what you want done and what the agent may and may not do on your behalf.
Share only what is needed
Give Claude Code the minimum files or access required. Avoid sharing passwords in chat when a safer login flow exists.
Review the plan
Ask the agent to show its plan or draft before it acts, and approve each step that has real consequences.
Check the result
Confirm the outcome yourself (order placed, request sent, document understood) and keep a record.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Make your smart TV dumb again with an AI agent What the original author did: TechCrunch rounded up the trend: people point Claude Code or another agent at open-source repos like dumbtv and cleanyourtv to remove sponsored rows, ACR viewing trackers and bloat from Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV sets, often swapping in a cleaner launcher. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Reported by TechCrunch on Oct 19; it notes one user bricked an Android TV and another got stuck on a Fire TV, so back up the package list first. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50159765 Tools they used: Claude Code, Claude Opus 5.5, DeepSeek, ADB Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Make your smart TV dumb again with an AI agent What the original author did: TechCrunch rounded up the trend: people point Claude Code or another agent at open-source repos like dumbtv and cleanyourtv to remove sponsored rows, ACR viewing trackers and bloat from Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV sets, often swapping in a cleaner launcher. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Reported by TechCrunch on Oct 19; it notes one user bricked an Android TV and another got stuck on a Fire TV, so back up the package list first. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50159765 Tools they used: Claude Code, Claude Opus 5.5, DeepSeek, ADB Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Make your smart TV dumb again with an AI agent What the original author did: TechCrunch rounded up the trend: people point Claude Code or another agent at open-source repos like dumbtv and cleanyourtv to remove sponsored rows, ACR viewing trackers and bloat from Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV sets, often swapping in a cleaner launcher. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Reported by TechCrunch on Oct 19; it notes one user bricked an Android TV and another got stuck on a Fire TV, so back up the package list first. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50159765 Tools they used: Claude Code, Claude Opus 5.5, DeepSeek, ADB Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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Guides for this use case
How to build a custom Android TV or Google TV launcher with AI · How to remove ads and bloatware from your smart TV with AI · How to build a smart home and voice assistant with AI agents · How to vibe code an app with Claude Code
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