Rather astonishing level of 'data collection' by Smart TVs
Discussion
Most people probably realise that the apps on Smart TVs are like apps on your phone, reporting back a lot of data.
However, when you agree to the privacy statements of most Smart TV manufacturers, it turns out that they actually do a lot more than that. They will actually take snapshots of whatever source you happen to be watching and send them back to a central server for fingerprinting .. basically allowing the manufacturer to determine exactly what you were watching on the set (which TV show/ Film/ Video game) on anything up to a minute by minute basis.
https://youtu.be/2TPV9yQvcIQ
This data is then attached to your profile (containing all the other info that they have managed to gather on you via apps or maybe personal details you gave while registering the set on first use) and then sold on to third parties to be used 'however'.
I'm sure that whenever the TPTB force Digital ID, it's gonna be a required part of doing the setup of future SmartTVs just to make it really easy to track your personal use of the set. Wouldn't want you watching too much politically incorrect stuff.
However, when you agree to the privacy statements of most Smart TV manufacturers, it turns out that they actually do a lot more than that. They will actually take snapshots of whatever source you happen to be watching and send them back to a central server for fingerprinting .. basically allowing the manufacturer to determine exactly what you were watching on the set (which TV show/ Film/ Video game) on anything up to a minute by minute basis.
https://youtu.be/2TPV9yQvcIQ
This data is then attached to your profile (containing all the other info that they have managed to gather on you via apps or maybe personal details you gave while registering the set on first use) and then sold on to third parties to be used 'however'.
I'm sure that whenever the TPTB force Digital ID, it's gonna be a required part of doing the setup of future SmartTVs just to make it really easy to track your personal use of the set. Wouldn't want you watching too much politically incorrect stuff.
I have a pihole running at home and noticed that my Samsung TV is (was) calling home a lot. So i blocked all the URLs and also saw that the adverts on the app screen are also gone. No negative impact to TV
b
ds have no right to show me adverts on my own TV home screen, and also collect data.
b
ds have no right to show me adverts on my own TV home screen, and also collect data.Bum_Face said:
I have a pihole running at home and noticed that my Samsung TV is (was) calling home a lot. So i blocked all the URLs and also saw that the adverts on the app screen are also gone. No negative impact to TV
bds have no right to show me adverts on my own TV home screen, and also collect data.
Definitely going to look into this. How comprehensive/reliable are the block lists?b
ds have no right to show me adverts on my own TV home screen, and also collect data.As things stand, even if you hook up something like an old VCR your viewing data is being reported back, packaged and sold on.
the lists are fantastic, then you leave logging on to see what else is going through and then choose to block those also. Amazon Alexas are a terrible offender for this also, and they got blocked.
The default lists have over 200,000 entries in and block 99% of everything i wanted. My own list has 42 entries in it, so the default list is pretty extensive.
Makes browsing websites so much faster as well.
For a long time it even blocked ads on youtube until youtube worked out how to prevent it
The default lists have over 200,000 entries in and block 99% of everything i wanted. My own list has 42 entries in it, so the default list is pretty extensive.
Makes browsing websites so much faster as well.
For a long time it even blocked ads on youtube until youtube worked out how to prevent it
Bum_Face said:
the lists are fantastic, then you leave logging on to see what else is going through and then choose to block those also. Amazon Alexas are a terrible offender for this also, and they got blocked.
The default lists have over 200,000 entries in and block 99% of everything i wanted. My own list has 42 entries in it, so the default list is pretty extensive.
Makes browsing websites so much faster as well.
For a long time it even blocked ads on youtube until youtube worked out how to prevent it
Could you enter those 42 entries in a router if you don't run Pihole?The default lists have over 200,000 entries in and block 99% of everything i wanted. My own list has 42 entries in it, so the default list is pretty extensive.
Makes browsing websites so much faster as well.
For a long time it even blocked ads on youtube until youtube worked out how to prevent it
the-photographer said:
Could you enter those 42 entries in a router if you don't run Pihole?
There are several ways but PiHole is probably one of the easiest to use.FWIW - I never use the built-in 'Smart' stuff (far too much network chatter) and have gone down the AppleTV route instead.
M
Most stuff can be switched off in the Samsung settings. Other brands similar.,
1. On your TV remote, go to Settings, then go to Support (or sometimes General) Terms & Privacy or Privacy Choices.
2. In the Privacy menu:
Find Viewing Information Service , Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) or similar. Disable it. This stops the TV from automatically recognising/collecting what you re watching.
Look for Interest-Based Advertising, Personalised Ads, or Enable interactive marketing/advertising services . Turn that off.
For voice and camera features: find Voice Recognition Services, Gesture Control / Facial Recognition, and disable those if you re not using them. (Samsung states you can disable voice recognition data collection. )
1. On your TV remote, go to Settings, then go to Support (or sometimes General) Terms & Privacy or Privacy Choices.
2. In the Privacy menu:
Find Viewing Information Service , Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) or similar. Disable it. This stops the TV from automatically recognising/collecting what you re watching.
Look for Interest-Based Advertising, Personalised Ads, or Enable interactive marketing/advertising services . Turn that off.
For voice and camera features: find Voice Recognition Services, Gesture Control / Facial Recognition, and disable those if you re not using them. (Samsung states you can disable voice recognition data collection. )
RotorRambler said:
For voice and camera features: find Voice Recognition Services, Gesture Control / Facial Recognition, and disable those if you re not using them. (Samsung states you can disable voice recognition data collection. )
I recall a colleague (who had tape over his laptop's camera) in Germany telling me years ago there was a massive backlash there against Samsung when it dawned on people that their TV was listening to everything they said. He said there were Court cases going on about it.the-photographer said:
Bum_Face said:
the lists are fantastic, then you leave logging on to see what else is going through and then choose to block those also. Amazon Alexas are a terrible offender for this also, and they got blocked.
The default lists have over 200,000 entries in and block 99% of everything i wanted. My own list has 42 entries in it, so the default list is pretty extensive.
Makes browsing websites so much faster as well.
For a long time it even blocked ads on youtube until youtube worked out how to prevent it
Could you enter those 42 entries in a router if you don't run Pihole?The default lists have over 200,000 entries in and block 99% of everything i wanted. My own list has 42 entries in it, so the default list is pretty extensive.
Makes browsing websites so much faster as well.
For a long time it even blocked ads on youtube until youtube worked out how to prevent it
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