Your Home. Your TV.

Step 0 · No code

Privacy settings

Ten minutes with your remote. Hide the recommendation rows, turn off personalized ads and reset your advertising ID. You can undo all of it.

Step 1 · About 20 minutes

Install the launcher

Turn on Roku's developer mode, pick your apps, pull their logos, then zip it and use Delete, Upload, Install. The current build lists 20 apps, and you choose your own.

Optional

My Album and Jellyfin

My Album is a tile for your family tree, photos, videos, recipes, music and links. Your own Jellyfin server can stream the videos and music, with your API key kept out of Git.

Work in progress

Phone remote

Back from an app lands on Roku's home, not the launcher. This small web page gets you back in one tap. That one button is the only one that works so far.

The system

Recommender systems

They predict what you'll want and put it in front of you. Personalization isn't simply bad. The catch is who it's tuned for: watch time, purchases and ad revenue.

The risk

Bubbles and automation bias

Your world can narrow without feeling narrower. And accepting a recommendation is easier than searching, so systems drift from suggesting to deciding.

Human agency

Know. Question. Decide.

The answer isn't to avoid AI. Know what the system is doing, question it and keep the final decision. Most people never change defaults, so control should be the default.

HSE 524, Arizona State University

"From Audience to Main Character"

CleanYourRoku is the smart TV case study in this paper on recommender systems and human agency.

Paper link coming soon

Network

Why do I get a 403 error?

Your Roku is limiting network control. Set Network access to Permissive under Control by mobile apps. Any device on your Wi-Fi can then send commands, so that's your call.

Publishing a beta

Is the LaunchApp warning a problem?

No, not for a beta. A launcher opens other apps, so the scan flags it. A warning isn't an error, and the beta still publishes and runs.

Publishing a beta

What if my package is over 4 MB?

That's a warning, not a blocker, but smaller loads faster. Shrink big images, remove ones you don't use and use JPEG for photos.

Everyday use

Why does Back go to Roku's home?

That's Roku, not a bug, and a sideloaded app can't change it. Put CleanYourRoku first in your app list so it's one click away.

Everyday use

Can I have more than one home screen?

Sort of. Roku allows one sideloaded app at a time, but you can keep several zips and install the one you want. It takes about a minute.

Safety

Does it uninstall or block apps?

No. It only changes which apps you see on its screen. Everything else stays installed. It curates, so a kids' profile isn't a parental control.

Safety

Will it break my Roku?

Developer mode is an official Roku feature, and nothing here modifies your Roku's system software. To undo it, delete the app and turn developer mode off.

Compatibility

Does it work on my Roku model?

It's been tested on one Roku streaming player. Others should work, but that isn't confirmed. If you try it, please share your notes.

Who

Damien Pressley

A UX researcher in ASU's graduate Human Systems Engineering program, studying how people interact with technology and automation.

Why

A fix for Roku

Damien came across Clean Your TV, tried it and found it didn't work on Roku. So he built a fix for Roku. This site is that fix.

Credit

Clean Your TV

The original project for Android and Google TVs, and the inspiration for this one.

How

AI as a partner

Built with AI as a partner, not a decision-maker. Every choice about what goes on the screen was made by a person.