tv privacy

TV Privacy? While you are watching TV, your TV is watching with you

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TV Privacy, lack thereof – your TV is phoning home — reporting everything you see and do… but you CAN put a stop to being tracked

You bought a nice new smart TV. You connected it to the internet. You plugged it in and turned it on.

You were presented with a dizzying set of setup instructions. You agreed to this. You agreed to that. You weren’t really paying attention. You just wanted to finish setup so you could begin watching your new masterpiece.

In the background your TV is now reporting back to China…to South Korea. Every program you watch…every ad you see…screenshots are being captured and are being transmitting back to the TV manufacturers.

You are a victim of your TV’s Automated Content Recognition (ACR) technology:

How it Works: ACR Technology

Think of ACR as “Shazam for your screen.” Instead of listening to music, it “looks” at the pixels on your display.

  • Frequency: Most smart TVs capture “snapshots” of your screen as often as every 500 milliseconds (twice per second).

  • Method: The TV doesn’t typically send a full, high-resolution photo. It samples a small selection of pixels to create a “digital fingerprint” or hash.

  • Matching: This fingerprint is sent back to the manufacturer’s servers and compared against a massive database of movies, shows, and commercials to identify exactly what you are viewing.

  • And where does that profile of you go? Sold to the highest bidder?

How to stop the invasion of your privacy

Method 1
Through your TV’s menus, try to locate the privacy sections and deselect the applicabe terms and conditions you agreed to. Be thorough. You’ll need to traverse multiple sections. It won’t be easy. It’s designed that way. Best of luck finding everything.

Method 2 — my preferred solution
I never connected my TV directly to the internet in the first place. Instead I use a streaming box that is connected to the internet then the box is connected to my TV via a HDMI cable.

No direct internet connection —> No manufacturer spying
I use a Roku streaming device with an Ethernet port. I don’t want to depend on Wi-Fi. I want smooth, uninterrupted streaming — only Ethernet can give me that.

There are other good streaming boxes on the market too. Just a matter of personal choice.

Not to digress too much, but I use a Roku box because I also have Roku indoor and outdoor security cameras. I can view all my cams easily from any of my TVs throughout the house. I use Roku sticks on my other TVs. They work perfectly and are inexpensive.

Lawsuits are on the horizon and some are working their way through U.S. courts to attempt to hold TV manufactures accountable for what many feel is a clear invasion of TV owners’ privacy. Stay tuned.