If you’ve purchased a new TV in the last few years, it is probably a smart TV. Smart TVs are more like computers than traditional TVs. They connect to the internet, making apps/streaming channels like Netflix, Hulu, and Max available from your start screen. This removes the need for a separate device (Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc.) to host the streaming channels. New TVs may also have a handy voice control feature, which can be helpful if you hate typing search words using your remote’s arrow buttons.
These features are convenient, but there is a cost. Interestingly, some people will happily pay this cost, while others go to great lengths to avoid it. That cost is your privacy. While it’s true that almost every internet-connected device we use is spying on us and sharing our information with third parties, and maintaining privacy may seem like a lost cause, tightening security where you can is one way to help guard against identity theft.
How Do Smart TVs Spy on People?
The obvious data the TV can collect is your watching habits. Even if you’re not using a smart TV, your Netflix subscription tracks what you watch so they can make recommendations for your next binge-watch. This adds value to your channel browsing experience, but this information is also sold to third parties. Similarly, TV manufacturers gather your watching habits, location, IP address, and other info, then they sell this data so they can continue to make money on you even after you’re done purchasing the TV.
Voice Control
Voice control can also be very handy as an alternative to using the arrow keys on your remote for text input. To perform this function, the TV is listening all the time in case you say the trigger word to make it “wake up.” If you read the terms and conditions on each screen while setting up your TV, it is likely they contained a warning about having sensitive conversations in the same room as the TV, as speech may be recorded.
But Wait, There’s More
It gets worse. The TVs also track what you watch on your DVD player or items you mirror from your phone through Automatic Content Recognition (ACR). Anything that shows up on the TV screen is fair game. If you browse the internet on your TV, that traffic is tracked, as well. If your TV has a camera, you might want to cover that up ASAP. To make it all worse, the companies taking your data haven’t bothered making things very secure, so your TV could be hacked by someone outside the company, too.
Samsung and LG (and others) have been outed to the public for their shady data collection practices and pitiful security, but the outcry to revert to “dumb” TVs never materialized. It seems smart TVs are here to stay.
What Can I Do to Protect Myself?
The only way to be sure your data is private is to unplug the TV completely or disconnect it from the internet. But that probably isn’t going to happen. The good news is that most Smart TVs offer a way to opt out of some types of data collection. It may impact functionality (prevent voice control, prevent using streaming apps, etc.), but the option is there. For instructions on turning off Automatic Content Recognition, see this Consumer Reports article. You may be prompted for your Colonie Library card number. For instructions for additional platforms, including Fire Stick and Roku, see this article from ZDNet.
Even when a user opts out of Automatic Content Recognition, the TV may still collect data using other methods, such as using an Advertising ID. Most platforms allow you to reset your Advertising ID in the privacy settings, but not turn off data collection completely.
If you’d rather shop for a “dumb TV” to avoid data collection altogether, you can find a couple of links in this article from Tom’s Guide (about halfway through the article).
Summary
In today’s world, data is king. If you want to limit the amount of data available on you and your household, you may want to check the privacy settings on your Smart TV or streaming platform to make sure Automatic Content Recognition and other advertising settings are turned off. Be sure to check back periodically to make sure platform updates did not reactivate the features.
