Is My Smart TV Spying on Me?

A year later, Consumer Reports found that TVs from Roku and Samsung were vulnerable to hackers, including the capability to change channels, raise the volume, and play unwanted videos. The issues subsequently were addressed.

In 2019, an FBI field office in Oregon cautioned that internet-connected TVs could open a door into your living room that manufacturers, streaming providers and hackers might exploit.

What can you do?

I’m not suggesting to refrain from buying a smart TV. But you can lessen the likelihood that your TV can spy with abandon, and it all may begin just after you plug the TV in.

Though it varies by brand, your TV may present you with a series of opt-in privacy preferences during this initial setup. Don’t blindly agree to the manufacturer’s defaults. Read descriptions of what’s being asked.

The companies routinely leverage technology called automatic content recognition or ACR, though it sometimes shows up as something else.

“The TV manufacturers have a lot of little checkboxes hidden in the settings menus under ‘system’ and ‘privacy’ and you really have to dig for them,” says Dan Ackerman, editor-in-chief of the news arm of the Micro Center retail site. “You want to turn off anything that says it’s going to serve you live advertising content [or] monitor what you’re watching.”

ACR can capture anything that goes through your screen, including video from third-party devices connected to the TV. On an LG TV in my family room, I found an automatic content recognition descriptor and the associated user agreements buried under Settings | General | About This TV | User Agreements.

Another explanation found in Settings on the LG was for a feature called Live Plus, in which the TV uses ACR to “recognize the content on the screen and to enable interactive overlaps, polls, reminders and ad overlays.” Another listing under User Agreements, written in legalese, was for something labeled as “Interest-Based & Cross-Device Advertising Agreement.”

Privacy settings on a Fire TV in my kitchen also explained how ACR is put to use, which Amazon benignly says is to collect “data about what you watch on this TV and to improve our products and services. … We may also use data collected through ACR to build other features that personalize your viewing experience, such as offering more relevant content recommendations and adverts.”

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• NextGen Broadcast Signals Promise Better TV Over the Airwaves

You may have to decide how smart the TV should be

As a user, you may not be totally in control of your privacy. If you don’t agree to certain privacy policies, you may not be able to use the TV as a fully functioning smart TV.

One thing you will want to do: Install the periodic software updates from your TV manufacturer. You also should make sure the apps on the TV are kept current.

People have different tolerances for privacy, of course. But it’s probably a fair assumption that most of us would rather watch the TV than have the TV watch us.

Related:

• 5 Habits That Help Keep Your Passwords and Other Data Secure
• Private Web Browsing Explained
• Safeguard Your Privacy on Popular Social Media Platforms

Bonus tip: Use external devices for streaming services

If you’ve connected a third-party device for your streaming services — such as Apple TV 4K, various Fire TV cubes and sticks, Google TV Streamer or one of several types of Roku streaming players — consider disconnecting the Wi-Fi on the TV itself once you’ve set it up.

Instead, use the Wi-Fi on the external device connected to the TV. You can stream content directly from that box without fretting that the TV is sharing your data.

Pay close attention to the privacy settings on that device and turn off any default options you’re uncomfortable with. But such options may be easier to manage.

As Micro Center’s Ackerman puts it, “The TV itself doesn’t need to be online.”