Be Warned, New Vizio TVs Might Force You To Make A Walmart Account

From now on, you'll have to do careful research to determine which retail accounts you'll need to use when purchasing a smart TV. Potential buyers have been warned that new TVs from Vizio might require users to create a Walmart account to access any smart features. This means that you would not be able to access streaming apps or voice control without sharing your information with Walmart and its advertising partners.

Walmart acquired Vizio in 2024 for $2.3 billion. Retail analysts have asserted that this purchase was a means for Walmart to expand its advertising capabilities. By forcing TV owners to make a Walmart account, the company can now gain easier access to viewing habits and extract even more value from users. Statistics show that online shoppers who are required to make an account have a 64% rate of making repeat purchases upon returning to the website.

In an official statement to Ars Technica, a Walmart spokesperson explained, "Customers who already have an existing Vizio account are being given the option to merge their Vizio account with their Walmart account. Customers with an existing Vizio account can opt out by deleting their Vizio account." The spokesperson added that the required account integration is "designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways." This vague justification is hardly reassuring, though. It's likely that many people will add Vizio TVs to their list of gadgets to avoid buying at Walmart.

Expert reviewers once lauded Vizio as a top-notch TV manufacturer. If the idea of being forced to make a retail account has turned you off from Vizio, though, there's no need to worry. There are still new smart TVs that offer great value at every price bracket.

Consumer Reports ranks the best smart TVs and consistently puts Samsung and LG in the top slots. They make some of the best high-end TVs with OLED displays and AI-powered optimization features. Keep in mind that Samsung and LG do require you to make a proprietary account when setting up your TV before you can use smart features. Unfortunately, this is an increasingly common practice with modern smart devices. But unlike Vizio, these manufacturers don't require you to also make an account with a third-party retail company.

Hisense and TCL make some of the best budget and mid-range TVs, according to the experienced testers at RTINGS. Even if you're on a budget, don't buy a TV without must-have features like High Dynamic Range (HDR) and smart home integration. Luckily, even the cheapest smart TVs often come with those features these days. Best of all, neither Hisense nor TCL requires you to make an account to access smart features. You can start streaming content from pre-installed apps right out of the box.