A founder says Claude Code helped him hack his TV to remove ads and show a screensaver with his revenue, calendar and Stripe alerts
Hacked my TV with Claude Code today No more ads, bloatware, spyware or laggy UI I also got a beautiful screensaver with my revenue, calendar, weather, and notifications for new Stripe payments It was super easy! I sent it the listing for my tv, asked "can you hack this?" And it talked me through how
Context
The post shows how coding agents are letting nonexperts modify devices they own, which raises both creative and security questions.
This is a first hand anecdote from Ryan Doyle, and none of it has been independently verified. He did not name the TV model or explain what was changed.
Deep dive
On October 16, Ryan Doyle posted that he hacked his TV with Claude Code that day. He wrote that he now has no more ads, bloatware, spyware or laggy UI.
He said he also got a screensaver showing his revenue, calendar and weather, with notifications for new Stripe payments. He described the process as super easy: he sent Claude Code the listing for his TV, asked whether it could hack it, and it talked him through how.
The attached photo shows a wall mounted TV displaying a lake and mountain landscape. A calendar in the top left lists items for today, the top right shows the time, date and weather, and the bottom shows revenue figures labeled today, MRR and all time.
Claude Code is Anthropic's coding agent, which runs on a user's computer and can execute commands. Many smart TVs run software that shows ads and collects viewing data, which is the bloatware and spyware Doyle refers to.
The post does not say what the hack involved, such as installing a different launcher or changing firmware, whether it voids the warranty, or whether the change could be undone. Modifying a device's software can carry security and stability risks.
What to expect next
Watch whether Doyle or others share the steps, which would show whether the change is a simple settings tweak or deeper firmware work, and whether TV makers push back with updates.
Also watch how Anthropic and rival agent makers handle requests to modify devices people own, and whether more people use coding agents to strip ads or build custom dashboards at home. Security researchers may weigh in on the risks of agent guided device hacking.