Your Smart TV is taking screenshots of your screen every 15 seconds

Posted by nowflux 2 hours ago

Comments

Comment by peterlk 44 minutes ago

https://xcancel.com/heynavtoor/status/2044433988312560051

Comment by rationalist 1 hour ago

I took out the Wi-Fi module before I ever powered up the TV. I don't want to have to trust that a guest won't try to connect to their own hotspot to watch their Netflix on my TV.

Comment by angry_octet 49 minutes ago

I'm curious to know whether my Google TV is surveilling my use of Netflix and other apps. If I watch something via XBMC streaming does it sample it?

It would be a shame if I had to have my own HDMI generator go back to switching inputs.

Comment by kstrauser 41 minutes ago

Maybe, but since I'll never connect that sucker to a network, it'll just have to sit and brood on them.

Comment by GauntletWizard 32 minutes ago

They're increasingly turning to contracts with Comcast and AT+T so that even if you don't have them on the network, they can phone home on the neighbor's wifi.

Comment by LocalH 5 minutes ago

Don't forget they can just drop a 4G modem into the TV too.

Comment by big_toast 9 minutes ago

Do you have additional information about this? I'm having trouble finding reporting or discussion on it.

Comment by its-summertime 1 hour ago

https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.06203 the study

Instructions given from the twitter thread but are probably slop:

Samsung:

Menu → Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Terms & Privacy → Turn off "Viewing Information Services"

LG:

Settings → General → System → Additional Settings → Turn off "Live Plus"

Settings → Support → Privacy & Terms → User Agreements → Turn off "Viewing Information"

Roku TVs (TCL, Hisense, Philips, Insignia, Onn, Sharp, and others):

Settings → Privacy → Smart TV Experience → Turn off "Use Info from TV Inputs"

Settings → Privacy → Advertising → Turn off "Personalize Ads"

Sony:

Settings → All Settings → Turn off "Samba Interactive TV"

Vizio:

Settings → All Settings → Admin & Privacy → Turn off "Viewing Data"

Amazon:

Settings → Preferences → Privacy Settings → Turn off "Device Usage Data", "Collect App and Over-the-Air Usage", "Interest-Based Ads"

Comment by mlindner 47 minutes ago

FWIW, I would not trust LG here to actually do nothing even after turning all the elements off, their GUI is especially "web"-like. Just leave it disconnected.

I don't understand why people can't just get a secondary device for accessing live streaming programs. There's numerous devices you can buy that do it.

TVs should not be connected to the internet. The incentive structures are just too bad against the user.

Comment by AirMax98 1 hour ago

Dumb devices have gotta be a billion dollar market at this point.

Comment by rationalist 17 minutes ago

I bought a dumb 4K TV years ago. When I looked not too long ago, I couldn't find any for sale.

Comment by therobots927 2 hours ago

I changed the WiFi password as never told my Samsung the new one. I expect this will work for a year or two until they figure out how to force their way onto the network.

Comment by jhhh 1 hour ago

Amazon sidewalk and related technologies will likely allow devices to bypass needing your network at all in the future. The last TV that doesnt support these features will probably be my last.

Comment by HDBaseT 59 minutes ago

[dead]

Comment by cwillu 1 hour ago

Thank god the EoH never became a thing, despite being in the HDMI standard

Comment by cma 1 hour ago

They will probably eventually upload stuff through people walking by with Samsung phones or smart tags.

Comment by ezekg 2 hours ago

Do you just use a Roku to watch stuff or what?

Comment by mlindner 45 minutes ago

What is of value to watch on any of the streaming platforms?

Netflix content is atrophying. Disney Plus is dying. To say nothing of Hulu or others.

I watch youtube. The content is way more varied and interesting and less sanitized.

Comment by bitwize 1 hour ago

There's a wonderful thing that we used to have and still do have, but might be going away soon. It's called "terrestrial television". For decades people streamed programming over the airwaves, straight off the antenna! For free! Ad-supported of course, but... no tracking! (Actually opt-in tracking with a Nielsen People Meter.)

Comment by dlcarrier 1 hour ago

You can also use a DVR to record terrestrial broadcast TV, and there's even tools to automatically skip ads: https://github.com/Protektor-Desura/jellyfin-dvr-comskip