https://archive.is/jOJ3R link to archived version of article. FT usually hides things behind a metered paywall.
Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
321–330 of 524 posts
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#322Does this happen with Chromecast as well? I'm totally fine with disconnecting my tv since I only use it via Chromecast anyways. Smart tv makes no sense to me simce they are all 10x shittier than Chromecast
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#323Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe insurance companies could be our ally here. Warn them of the risks and get them to ensure all hospital TVs do not get internet access.
There go the already-terrible tv options in hospital rooms.
Poor you, now you need to take a book or listen to podcasts...
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#324Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still doesn't change the fact that if Apple was principled on privacy, they would refuse google's billions in spy money and wouldn't, by default, send their customers to Google search engine to be harvested
I hear ya but if DDG doubled googles offer Apple would change the default. They are for profit and don’t hide it. Google and Facebook on the other hand hide or at least try to hide their illegal business models
It is not their fault the highest bidder is the shadiest of them all? That is some weird mental gymnastics to give Apple some moral high ground.
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#325I would love to update my 10 year old 1080p Philips non-smart TV to a 55" or so 4K HDR screen but I don't want any of the smart features. Does anyone know of any manufacturers selling high end "dumb" TVs? For now I'm comfortable using my appleTV but I like the fact that I can disconnect it at any time. I want a TV that will simply display whatever signal it receives without any connectivity required.
I have been told commercial/ Professional displays without TV tuners are a safe bet.
Example - https://www.samsung.com/in/business/smart-signage/profession...
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#326Stallman has been telling for a while that "smart" devices mean devices that spy on you.
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#327Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don’t let your TV access the internet at all. Smart TV interfaces are almost uniformly worse than set top boxes (one or more of: bad UI, slow CPU, weird quirks, few updates) so you should avoid it anyway. The current Apple TV (which I cite only because of familiarity) has a great UI, every major app, and robust HDMI-CEC support so you might never have to touch your TV’s remote again. And Apple respects your privacy.
Some smart TVs will join open networks if you don't give them one. And I expect that if 5G works as advertised you'll see surveillance capitalism adding 5G connectivity so you no longer have control over connectivity.
This will depend on the jurisdiction. In GDPR land neither of this will fly as you obviously don't have consent. I own an Aldi TV which hasn't set up for internet connection. When I first started it I was greeted with a consent form which I declined. I am pretty sure that the setting I did (no internet) is honored both for PR and GDPR reasons.
With 5G, you will have the same problem. And I'd be very reluctant to buy anything stationary which has 5G connectivity.
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#328Earlier quoted context omitted.
There go the already-terrible tv options in hospital rooms.
Poor you, now you need to take a book or listen to podcasts...
Not sure if you're being serious, but being in extreme pain and/or drugged out of your mind on painkillers, TV is often the only good thing to do in that situation. Podcasts work too, but something stupid please.
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#329I would love to update my 10 year old 1080p Philips non-smart TV to a 55" or so 4K HDR screen but I don't want any of the smart features. Does anyone know of any manufacturers selling high end "dumb" TVs? For now I'm comfortable using my appleTV but I like the fact that I can disconnect it at any time. I want a TV that will simply display whatever signal it receives without any connectivity required.
I'm using an LG OLED TV (2018 model I think) with an Apple TV, and it's working pretty much exactly like a dumb screen. I haven't connected the TV to the network, and I control everything with the Apple TV remote - it turns on the TV via HDMI CEC as needed, and when I turn off the Apple TV the TV turns off too. I've also connected my home theater system via HDMI ARC to get better sound, and CEC turns on and off the speakers too.
All I see of the LG interface during normal use is a small box in the top right corner that says "Apple TV" on boot and "Denon available" or something like that when the speaker systems has booted.
Also, the screen turns on quickly so there's practically no waiting for anything.
I was thinking of getting one of those in-store displays instead of a TV, but they don't usually have HDR.
A++++, would buy again!
Re: Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook
#330This is a pretty open secret within the industry. Geographic data can be provided via setup (a lot of TV's ask for a zip code on setup) or usually simply via GeoIP lookup. Dig a bit deeper and you get into service provided by Samba TV and or Inscape and you can find that they're sending back frames of video in a lot of cases to track what you're watching. This data is becoming a huge mechanism for subsidizing TV sale…
Also see:
My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16727319
How Smart TVs in Millions of U.S. Homes Track More Than What’s On Tonight
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/business/media/tv-viewer-...
I no longer have a TV connected to the internet, I only have a local Plex connected to the TV and a Chromecast for things like Netflix.