A developer had an AI assistant strip the ads off a parent's TV, then shared how
CleanYourTV is a free project that uses a coding assistant to turn off bloatware on Android and Google TVs and swap in a plain, Apple TV-style home screen.
On October 17, 2026, a developer who goes by Gathin posted on X that Gathin had "vibe coded" the TV at Gathin's parents' home. The TV was showing a sponsored ad before anyone could even reach Netflix, the post said. Gathin gave Claude Code the model number and says it found the TV on Wi-Fi, switched off 25 Xiaomi apps and wrote a new home screen that "looks like an Apple TV now."
Gathin turned that into an open project on GitHub called CleanYourTV. Everything below comes from the project's README.
How it works
Android TVs have the same debugging bridge as Android phones. According to the README, you turn on debugging in the TV's developer settings, allow your computer once, and paste the project's prompt into a coding assistant with your TV model filled in. The assistant backs up the TV's app list, turns off the maker's ads, tracking and preloaded apps, then installs a small new launcher as the home screen. Gathin says it takes about 15 minutes.
Nothing is deleted, the README says. Apps are disabled, not uninstalled, and a restore script turns them back on.
Which TVs
The README says it works on anything running Android TV or Google TV. Contributors have added tested lists for dozens of models from TCL, Xiaomi, Sony, Philips, Hisense and others, and most of those came from replies to the original post. Samsung and LG TVs run different systems. Fire TV gets only the cleanup part, since Fire OS will not let another launcher take over the home screen.
The risks, in the README's words
Gathin writes that nothing is flashed, rooted or deleted, but "the risk is disabling something the TV leans on." That is why changes go in small batches with a restore script ready. The README also warns that network debugging leaves an open door on your home network, and lists steps to switch it off and check it is closed when you are done. Most lists also turn off the TV's update service, Gathin notes, so updates arrive only if you turn it back on.
The project is free under the MIT license. Gathin offers no prebuilt app. You build it with the included script.
Source: CleanYourTV on GitHub