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Television Businesses Privacy

Smart TVs Are Employing Screen Monitoring Tech To Harvest User Data (vox.com) 44

Posted by msmash from the times,-they-are-a-changin dept.
Smart TV platforms are increasingly monitoring what appears on users' screens through Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, building detailed viewer profiles for targeted advertising.

Roku, which transitioned from a hardware company to an advertising powerhouse, reported $3.5 billion in annual ad revenue for 2024 -- representing 85% of its total income. The company has aggressively acquired ACR-related firms, with Roku-owned technology winning an Emmy in 2023 for advancements in the field.

According to market research firm Antenna, 43% of all streaming subscriptions in the United States were ad-supported by late 2024, showing the industry's shift toward advertising-based models. Most users unknowingly consent to this monitoring when setting up their devices. Though consumers can technically disable ACR in their TV settings, doing so often restricts functionality.
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Smart TVs Are Employing Screen Monitoring Tech To Harvest User Data More

Smart TVs Are Employing Screen Monitoring Tech To Harvest User Data

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  • Use a raspberry Pi or other SFF PC (Score:3)

    by rtkluttz ( 244325 ) on Friday March 28, 2025 @04:43PM (#65266205) Homepage

    Run linux on it and stop the stupid spyway shit they are doing. I have 3 smart TV's that have never been hooked to a network. I run my entire system on SFF PC's that don't spy on me.

    • Re:Use a raspberry Pi or other SFF PC (Score:4, Informative)

      by zshXx ( 7123425 ) on Friday March 28, 2025 @04:48PM (#65266217)
      If you are using apple tv, fire tv, etc. just set your tv's to have no internet access. I generally let tv's connect to wifi for casting videos Or phone based remote control but block them at firewall (except one off unblocking to upgrade the firmware).

      • What makes you think that Apple/Amazon/Google/etc aren't harvesting and selling the same data?

        I have Roku boxes delivering content to a couple of TV's and I'm sure they are siphoning off plenty of useful data even though I'm blocking a substantial amount of "phone home" traffic with pihole. Switching to something else is on my list of things to do, but my wife and kids are comfortable with and like the Roku UI.

        There really isn't a legit way to get relatively fresh content without one of these jackals hoove

        • There really isn't a legit way to get relatively fresh content without one of these jackals hoovering up your data.

          Gee - when I'm faced with that kind of conundrum, I start to exercise my ability to re-interpret the term "legit". After all, the "jackals" you mentioned already did that to their own advantage - so why shouldn't we do it to our advantage?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      " I run my entire system on SFF PC's that don't spy on me."

      What "system" are you talking about? Your TV watching system? Sure, Raspberry Pi's would be great for that.

      And you don't need a raspberry Pi or some home-baked solution to NOT connect a smart TV to a network.

      You are not going to consume TV content with privacy, getting that content involves compromised privacy, always.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ukoda ( 537183 )
      Same here. My Sony TV, a brand that should know better, got worse and worse over time to the point I couldn't even reliably change the HDMI source. Now it is just an over size monitor with a RPi doing all the stuff I want.

      When the post said "Though consumers can technically disable ACR in their TV settings, doing so often restricts functionality." I was left wonder what functionality that was? If it can be set to a HDMI input without 'processing' the signal what other functionality does it really need

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by zshXx ( 7123425 )
        IIRC, apps like neflix, prime, etc. etc. won't stream 4k to a browser, atleast not on linux. This solution of not using some kind of tv stick (roku, applytv, firetv) doesn't work well with 4k/dolby vision, etc.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ukoda ( 537183 )
          Fair point, a lot is going to depend on where you get your content and your playback quality expectations. I tried the AppleTV in it's early days, clearly not intended for the likes of me. Loved the Fire TV, up until about a year ago when software updates ruined them, all the ones I had have been retired. So far Google Chrome Cast is still usable, but I am guessing enshitification will kill that soon enough.

          The most reliable solution I have found so far are RPi 4 PXE booting LibreELEC and with plugins
        • My Rpi4 has problems with Prime, even with the partial Widevine support in Chrome. I suspect other DRMed content might be the same. It plays 4K video from local files just fine though, so I just download whatever I want to watch in advance. Even stuff from Prime which I could otherwise stream with my sub.

      • My Sony TV, a brand that should know better...

        Apparently the Sony I've known all my life and the Sony you're talking about are two different companies.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ukoda ( 537183 )
          Not sure what your experience with Sony was but my experience was positive in the 1980s, using both their consumer and broadcast products. To be fair the biggest problem with my Sony TV is they have done a crap job of the Android software running it. However I would have liked to think Sony would put the effort into getting the software right, but apparently they are just as crap at software as many other brands out there. Oh, and yea, their remotes controls are terrible to use, they could take lessons fr

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tragedy ( 27079 )

        Same here. My Sony TV, a brand that should know better...

        I've considered Sony to be a brand that hates its customers for decades now. Can't remember which of their garbage was the first thing to make me feel that way. Could have been the spyware in their audio CDs.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Revek ( 133289 )
      I have blocked mine by their mac address. Someone connected one of mine and suddenly I started having trouble with the default input holding. A factory reset and blocking the mac has prevented that. I still have two that are just a TV and despite their age they are my go to screens.

    • Why do you think Amazon Sidewalk exists? lol.

      You didn't think that they would let you skip out on sending them all that valuable data, did you?

      If you don't share your WiFi, the day is quickly coming where your smart devices will piggy back on your neighbors WiFi, or the Amazon delivery vehicle, or another smart device, or any connected car that comes near your house.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tragedy ( 27079 )

        Or just have their own built in chip and antenna for communicating on cellular networks.

  • In addition to other suggestions... (Score:4, Informative)

    by dskoll ( 99328 ) on Friday March 28, 2025 @04:54PM (#65266231) Homepage

    In addition to the other suggestions, run Pi-hole as your DNS server so you can block the domain lookups these garbage "features" require to work.

  • But sooner or later all consumer grade TVs will require Internet connectivity just to function. We will also have to use PC monitors with HDMI and extra streaming devices. Once you idiot proof the system someone will just build a better idiot.
    • I don't connect my smart TVs to the internet at all (not even for software/firmware updates)
      I do all my streaming through a Roku. (no camera and I don't use the voice function).
      so far this has worked out fine for me. But if they start requiring you to connect to the internet to "activate" your TV (or Roku) or keep it connected so it will work, I will probably go to a monitor solution.
      I'm not worried about my Roku listening to me. I am more concerned about my smartphone listening to me.

      • It's pretty trivial to get an old small form factor PC and load Linux on it. There's probably a more elegant solution, but I haven't bothered.

        I used to buy task-specific devices, but I got tired of them falling behind as codecs changed and resolutions increased. I have a few little mini desktops that would otherwise have gone in the trash that do a fine job feeding video to my screens.

  • Simple (Score:4, Insightful)

    by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Friday March 28, 2025 @05:23PM (#65266321)

    Simple. TV's should not be connected to the Internet. Period.

    If you want to display content on your MONITOR, do it on a device that you:

    1) Selected
    2) Control
    3) Can change

    • Turn on TV after unpacking: TV posts big red error message on the screen:

      This TV requires an Internet connection to function. Please set up a WIFI connection using the button below, or plug in an Ethernet Cable.

      [Packs up TV and returns it to the retailer]

      • >"[Packs up TV and returns it to the retailer]"

        Exactly. Vote with your wallet. If any company were to pull such a stunt (without CLEARLY warning consumers about it), then they deserve to lose massive amounts of sales. That is why choice and competition are so important. And it is something we have lots of with "TV's".

  • When "smart" means "digital rapist".

  • In the not so distant future ... (Score:3)

    by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Friday March 28, 2025 @05:39PM (#65266381)

    Pretty soon we'll be living in a Max Headroom [wikipedia.org] world where it will be a crime to turn your TV off.

    (Mind the Blipverts lest your head explode.)

  • On the usual sites you can buy panel drivers that are very basic HDMI to lvds or other common signal types. Has anyone seen a 4k board that will with with your common smart TV panel as a replacement for the malware-infested main board? All I need is straight HDMI to a wall mount tv. Even without using the smart features I find the other "enhancements" really bothersome like image and color enhancing, not to mention noticable latency even in video game mode.

  • Yes, they tell you about this. You can opt out. Buyer beware.

  • Yeah. So what? Use a streaming stick. Itâ(TM)s better anyway than any built in OS. You wonâ(TM)t see any ads. Apple TV is my favorite.

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