Fox Corporation finalized its $22 billion Roku acquisition in June 2026. For a lot of viewers, the obvious question is: now what?
Roku’s business model was already built on tracking what you watch and selling ads against it. Under Fox, your viewing data feeds directly into a content production company, which is a different kind of problem.
When the same company makes the shows and tracks who watches them, for how long, and which ads get skipped, those aren’t separate systems anymore.
Why this acquisition changes things
Fox can now use Roku’s viewer analytics to inform content production and ad targeting in ways a neutral platform couldn’t. Your habits become a direct input into their content strategy.
Roku was already doing a lot before Fox showed up. ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data on what you watch, your viewing behavior sold to third-party advertisers, data shared with content partners. Now those practices sit inside a company with a direct stake in what gets greenlit and how advertising inventory gets priced.
The Fox-Roku combination is different from, say, Google owning Android TV. Google is an ad platform that also has a streaming product. Fox is a content studio that now owns an ad platform and your viewing data. Those are different incentive structures, and worth thinking about before you accept the next firmware update.
The best Roku alternatives in 2026
These are real options, ordered roughly from “willing to do some setup” to “just want to plug something in.”
1. Jellyfin (self-hosted)
Running your own media server is the most complete escape from corporate tracking. Jellyfin is open-source and free. Your data stays on your local network, and nobody is watching what you watch.
You need somewhere to run it: a NAS, an old PC, or a Raspberry Pi 5 will all work. You also need media files, which means either ripping your own Blu-rays or having existing purchases in DRM-free formats.
Cost: Free software. Hardware runs $150 to $500 depending on what you start with. A Raspberry Pi 5 with a case and a 2TB external drive gets you started around $200.
What you get is a Netflix-style interface you host yourself. Jellyfin handles movies, TV shows, music, and photos, pulls in artwork and metadata automatically, and streams to apps on virtually any device. Smart TVs, phones, tablets, browsers — it’s well-covered.
What you don’t get is Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, or any subscription service. Jellyfin is for media you already own. You’d still need a separate device or your TV’s built-in apps for streaming services.
Good fit for: Anyone with a media collection who’s willing to spend an afternoon on setup and wants zero telemetry going forward.
2. Apple TV 4K (3rd gen)
For people who want a commercial device and aren’t ready to self-host anything, Apple TV is the least bad option right now. Apple does collect some usage data, but advertising isn’t their core business. The incentive to harvest your viewing habits is weaker than at Roku or Amazon.
Apple’s privacy controls are also more specific than what most streaming boxes offer. You can opt out of personalized ads, limit app tracking, and see what data each app collects from the App Store privacy labels. That last feature is actually useful.
Cost: $129 for the standard model. The Wi-Fi + Ethernet version is $149.
It’s not a perfect answer. The app library is strong but not as wide as Android TV. A handful of niche streaming apps don’t have Apple TV versions. Sideloading isn’t an option.
Where it earns its price is the home screen. No ads. No promoted content rows. After spending time with Fire TV or Roku, that’s more significant than it sounds.
Good fit for: Anyone who wants a set-it-and-forget-it device with better privacy defaults than Roku and doesn’t mind paying more upfront.
3. Nvidia Shield Pro (Android TV)
The Nvidia Shield is the most powerful streaming device you can buy. It runs Android TV, which means you can sideload apps and replace the default launcher — and that’s where things get interesting.
Replace the default launcher with something like FLauncher or Leanback Launcher and you lose the home-screen ad grid. No promoted content, no recommendation rows driven by engagement metrics. It starts to feel more like a computer than a streaming box.
Cost: $199 for the Shield TV, $299 for the Shield Pro. The Pro version has built-in storage and can run as a Plex or Jellyfin server, which is a genuinely useful combination.
The Shield also has a hardware upscaler that improves older 1080p content on 4K screens. If you have a large library of older media, this is noticeable.
The catch is setup time. Installing a custom launcher involves going into developer settings and sideloading via ADB. It’s about an hour of work once, but it’s not for everyone.
Good fit for: Power users who want maximum flexibility, a full app library, and the option to run Jellyfin server directly on the device.
4. Google TV (Chromecast with Google TV)
The Chromecast with Google TV is Google’s $49.99 streaming stick. It runs Android TV underneath, so the same sideloading and launcher-swapping options apply. It’s significantly cheaper than the Shield.
Privacy reality check: Google is an advertising company. Their incentive to collect data is roughly equivalent to Roku’s. The upside is that Google’s privacy documentation is thorough and the settings are findable. The downside is you’re still feeding an ad business.
This is a pragmatic choice, not a privacy-first one. If budget is the main concern and you’re comfortable with Google’s data practices, it’s a solid device for $50.
Good fit for: Budget buyers who want the Android app ecosystem and are comfortable with Google’s tracking.
5. Amazon Fire TV (with caveats)
Amazon Fire TV comes up in this comparison because a lot of people have one and want to know if it’s a meaningful upgrade from Roku under Fox. The short answer is no, not from a privacy standpoint.
Amazon’s advertising business is as aggressive as Roku’s. The home screen is full of promoted content. Fire OS is a locked-down fork of Android without Google Play. You can sideload apps, but it’s more constrained than the Shield.
Where it does make sense: if you’re already deep in the Amazon ecosystem and use Prime Video heavily, Fire TV is a smooth integration. It’s not a privacy upgrade from Roku. It’s a lateral move with different trade-offs.
Cost: Fire TV Stick 4K Max is $59.99. Fire TV Cube is $139.99.
Good fit for: Amazon Prime subscribers who want seamless Prime Video integration and aren’t switching primarily for privacy reasons.
6. Raspberry Pi + LibreELEC / Kodi
If Jellyfin feels like too much infrastructure, Kodi on a Raspberry Pi is a simpler self-hosted option. LibreELEC is a minimal Linux OS built to run Kodi, and a Pi 4 or Pi 5 handles it well.
Cost: Raspberry Pi 5 starter kits run $90 to $120 and include everything you need to boot LibreELEC.
The difference from Jellyfin: Kodi is a local media player, not a client-server setup. You plug in an external drive or point it at a network share and it plays files directly. Less infrastructure, but also less polished if you want multi-room playback or mobile access to your library.
Same caveat as Jellyfin: no streaming services. You’d need separate apps for Netflix, etc.
Good fit for: People with a media collection who want the simplest possible self-hosted setup and are comfortable with basic Linux configuration.
How they compare
| Device | Privacy | Streaming services | Local media | Setup difficulty | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roku (Fox-owned) | Low | Excellent | Poor | None | $30–$100 |
| Apple TV 4K | Medium-high | Very good | Moderate | Minimal | $129–$149 |
| Nvidia Shield Pro | Medium (configurable) | Excellent | Excellent | Moderate | $199–$299 |
| Chromecast with Google TV | Low-medium | Very good | Moderate | Minimal | $49.99 |
| Amazon Fire TV | Low | Good (Amazon-heavy) | Moderate | Minimal | $49.99–$139.99 |
| Jellyfin (self-hosted) | Highest | None | Excellent | High | $150–$500+ |
| Raspberry Pi + Kodi | Highest | None | Excellent | Medium-high | $90–$120 |
One practical step regardless of which device you pick
Adding a Pi-hole or similar DNS sinkhole at the router level makes a real difference. It blocks telemetry calls before they leave your network, covering every device on your network, not just the TV.
A Raspberry Pi Zero 2W with Pi-hole runs about $15 in hardware. If you’d rather skip the local hardware, a NextDNS subscription ($1.99/month) does the same job from the cloud.
The reason this matters: even a device with decent privacy settings will make OS-level telemetry calls that you can’t turn off from the UI. Network-level blocking catches those. If you’re serious about not being tracked, it’s the most efficient single thing you can add.
Common questions
Is Roku still safe to use after the Fox acquisition?
Roku’s privacy policy hasn’t formally changed yet — the acquisition just closed. But the data practices that made Roku worth questioning before haven’t improved either. If privacy was your concern before, Fox ownership makes it more pressing, not less. If you were fine with Roku before, you’re probably fine for now.
Does Apple TV collect viewing data?
Apple collects usage data and crash reports. They don’t sell targeted ads against your viewing behavior the way Roku does. The App Store privacy labels show what individual apps collect, which is more transparency than most platforms offer. “Apple collects less” doesn’t mean “Apple collects nothing,” but the incentive structure is meaningfully different.
Can I use Jellyfin to watch Netflix?
No. Jellyfin is a server for files you own. It doesn’t connect to Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, or any subscription service. For those, you’d use a separate app alongside your Jellyfin setup.
What’s the cheapest real Roku alternative?
The Chromecast with Google TV at $49.99 is the cheapest direct comparison in terms of app coverage. If you already have a smart TV, your TV’s built-in platform might be sufficient on its own. LG’s webOS and Samsung’s Tizen are both reasonably capable. They have their own data collection, but the tracking situation isn’t substantially worse than Roku, and they cost nothing extra.
Should I use a VPN instead?
A VPN helps with network-level privacy but doesn’t stop the streaming device from sending telemetry. Those calls go through the VPN tunnel, just encrypted from your ISP. VPNs are useful for other reasons, but they don’t fix this specific problem. Pi-hole does.