Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
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[Matrix/Element]Dead
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
My dog tore up the remote so we were forced to use the roku app to control the tv.
They’re showing ads on the remote app. It feels like we can never escape this dystopian hellacape.
I mean... you bought a Roku.
Of all the streaming devices you can purchase, I'd argue Roku is the most privacy invasive: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/roku-streaming-sticks/
Yes I am aware. I mainly use the Jellyfin app on it. I have a PiHole but I unfortunately can’t change the DHCP/DNS settings on my router (i have no admin access to it) so i have to rely change the DNS for every client on my home. But unfortunately Roku does not allow for changing their DNS server.
I have heard about putting my roku on another submet but i don’t know how to do this. Any thoughts 🤔
I mainly use the Jellyfin app on it.
Hope it's working well for ya'!
Yes! I noticed the video player UI changed, it looks pretty clean. Are you a Jellyfin developer? If so, I love you.
Are you a Jellyfin developer?
I am. Funny enough, I'm the one who made the new video player OSD 🤘
If so, I love you.
Oh. Well, this is awkward. I think of you more as a friend...
It's platonic, you never hugged a coworker before?
😆 No, but I've had one put me in a bear hug before.
Buy another router to stick in between your ISP device and the rest of your network. You won't notice.
I know it's kind of like going from into the frying pan to into the fire, but something like a Google Nest Pro? Does that open up port forwarding if the original router is CG/NAT?
Can't you just replace the ISP router?
Maybe, if it's a fiber router it handles some authentication maybe?
I have heard about putting my roku on another submet but i don’t know how to do this. Any thoughts 🤔
I believe that would rely on the modem settings... If you buy a router (eero, Google WiFi, etc.) and connect it to the Ethernet port, you could create a separate network and your modem would see your router as a single device. I have T-Mobile Internet but don't trust them with my data, so in conjunction with the above, I have all my network traffic pointed towards AdGuard DNS (Personal Plan)(they have a free version that works well, but you can't customize it).
Mullvad's DNS has been pretty decent, and they're free
oof.
If you're running home assistant as well you can use that to create a remote card pretty easily, that's what I'm doing with my Nvidia shield.
I didn't know it was quite this bad. App uninstalled, and TV blocked from WiFi. I have connected devices I typically stream from, but that data collection is crazy. Next TV I'm going to rip the WiFi antennas out of it if I have to.
No worries.
It’s a shame because if you look at the history of Roku, it was founded with technology and ease of access in mind. Unfortunately, like many things, advertising and invading a users privacy is the “best” route for these companies to become profitable.
Google is a perfect example of this, especially after Eric Schmidt and the introduction of Google accounts.
That's crappy, but have you seen what other remote apps are doing?
Vizio has an ad that takes up around 25% of the screen!
MyQ has a large scrolling ad at the top, and they are actively hostile towards any integration that allows you to control your garage door without using their app (unless you use one of the very few subscription-based integrations they offer, of course).
Honestly, if I saw this after installing a new TV, smart home appliances, etc. I would rip them back out of my house and return them all. That is absurd.
HDMI port + your computer/some sort of more reputable 3rd party device. Just don't play ball lol
hot damn 😵💫
Use RoMote Roku remote: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/wseemann.media.romote/
I was sent down a rabbit hole of iOS roku apps. Fuck the iOS ecosystem dude, I am not paying $20 a year subscription for a remote app.
I did find a decent one for free, no ads (i have a pihole so it may show ads for people, idk yet) and only asks for donations from time to time. I had to scroll a bit far to find it
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rocky-roku-remote-control/id1598795880
Although, theoretically if a FOSS Android app can act as a remote, could there also be a way to self-host a Roku remote? 🤔
There's code you can download from github that would let you control your Roku device from terminal on a PC. I've used it to facilitate the design of my own Roku GUI applications. I think there might also be a TUI you can install. A lot of this is going to be easier on Linux, if that's something you're familiar with.
Yes! (arch user btw) Github link?
https://github.com/jcarbaugh/python-roku <- for a python code API
https://github.com/benthetechguy/controku <- also comes as an AUR package
I've used the first one. Never used the second, but I just happen to know about it.
Well in that case, you could look into Plasma Big screen, which you could control from your phone with KDE Connect
Oh that’s cool! Unfortunately I am on iOS.
Hopefully sideloading becomes a thing for iOS users. Used to have an iPhone, can't say I miss it.
Thank you!
You bet! I use it all the time, plus you can enter channels, which for the life of me, I cannot understand why Roku never allowed a long press on their reomte in order to enter a channel number with the arrows. 🎶Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!🎶
Are you on Android?
If so: RoMote is pretty good. Here's the releases page for the APK. It's also F-Droid.
Roku to me has always seemed like a bogged down, spammy platform. I've always been surprised at how often it gets recommended in cord cutting and self hosting sort of forums.
There are no ads in your screenshot
“Featured” tab on the bottom right
I’m not getting this, at least not yet.
Maybe it’s because I run Pi-hole; I know it filters out a TON of Roku’s telemetry and other traffic. Might be worth setting up Pi-hole on your network and see if stuff like that goes away?
How did you set your roku to use your pihole? I have no router access so i have to change each client’s dns. Roku doesnt allow changing their dns
It requires your pihole to act as DHCP server as well. From what I can tell, Roku is hard-coded to use whatever address is handed out. It's easily responsible for 60% of the blocked domains on my pihole.
If you don't have admin access to the ISP router, your only recourse is to put a consumer router behind it (You'd just hook up the consumer router's internet port to one of the LAN ports on the ISP router) and connect all of your devices to that. That way you can disable the DHCP server on the router and enable it on the pihole.
Can't you just tell your current dhcp to use the pihole as dns? That's how I set it up.
My router, (a TP-Link, can't remember the exact model) will still list itself in the list of nameservers even if I just specify the pihole. Since I can't seem to find anywhere in the router's interface to turn that behavior off, I've resorted to using the pihole as DHCP as well.
But yeah, usually you can just use whatever DHCP server you have already
He probably had router access.
Well, it is a Roku.
If you don’t want ads, spend more on an AppleTV, which seems to be the only thing that isn’t trying to jam ads down your throat.
I don’t think you need the rest of the Apple system, you can just install Netflix and Plex and whatever else you use.
What Ads? I don't have Ads in the interface nor in the app. Okay the reason could be my openwrt router is set up with Stubby DoT and blocklists from AdguardHome.