Amazingly evil abuse of consumer trust, but this kind of thing will continue to get worse, not better. I’m building a Faraday cage to live in.
Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
71–80 of 148 posts
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it has any smart features at all, you can be pretty sure that it's spying on you in all sorts of ways.
We're talking about TVs that take screenshots - which models do that?
Any modern Smart TV, I'd say that any of those made in the last 6 to 8 years. The feature is called ACR: "Automatic Content Recognition".
It's more a capability of the TV OS than the hardware model, although of course, more processing on the hardware gives you more ACR capabilities and it isn't usually listed on the device features.
Also, some of the brands have ACR under features named like "Samba TV" or "Live Plus", making it more difficult to find it on their setup menus.
There are sites that tell you how to deactivate ACR for different TV brands.
https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/stop-your-snooping-smart-tv-how-to-turn-off-data-collection-for-every-brand
https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features-a4840102036/
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/how-to-disable-acr-and-greatly-reduce-ads-on-every-tv-model-and-why-you-should/
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#73Do they transmit this information anywhere? A lot of this can be attributed to the anti-burn-in tech that dims your screen if the image is mostly-static for a long time.
Its been known for years that some smart tvs do screen caps which is used for either ads or resold as data. So while I am sure there may be some use in anti-burn-in, we already know this is a revenue model for a number of the manufacturers.
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#74I'm in the market for a new TV. Is there any source that lists models that do NOT engage in this sort of spying? I am willing to pay a significant premium and forego convenience features, but I lack the expertise to review products myself.
The best option I’ve found is to ditch the TV and use a projector
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#75I'm in the market for a new TV. Is there any source that lists models that do NOT engage in this sort of spying? I am willing to pay a significant premium and forego convenience features, but I lack the expertise to review products myself.
The best option I’ve found is to ditch the TV and use a projector
A lot of popular projectors are "smart projectors" too. Same issue.
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just don't connect it to your network and you're probably fine. Use a smart box for streaming services.
How do you know the smart box is not doing the same thing?
You know that the smart box IS doing that, but you’re able to make the choice of which one to get. And it’s not coupled with the display so you can choose the best options in each category instead of being locked in to whatever OS is installed on better displays.
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't connect your TV to the internet.
A report of a Samsung TV automatically connecting to a nearby unsecured network: https://web.archive.org/web/20210912135232/https://forum.dev... Not as common as I thought though: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25275350
We're linking to a random forum post as "proof?" If this was a widespread problem, we'd know it, but all we get is conspiracies which this is.
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#78This should be illegal
It should, but Americans spent tons of energy fighting consumer protections and complaining about the EU requiring them from US companies.
Hard to see this issue move forward, when the population considers corporate rights more important than personal privacy.
Heck, tons of people appeared out of thw woodwork to complaining about Right-To-Repair, but now that several states have required it, everyone loves having the manuals/parts.
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
With smart boxes you have much more options. I'm thinking a stipped down android TV box doesn't make screenshots and track you like most smart TVs do, they also don't serve random ads on the home page.
Apple TV is really your best option if you want privacy. Google is primarily an ad company that wants to learn as much about you as possible to target those ads.
Nope. A Kodi box is really the best option here.
Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Meanwhile my 70 year old something mother wants to watch TV not having to rely on me for tech support when she does. For nerds, brilliant. I love such setups myself but for the household consumer it's an no-go.
the bane of my existence. I have some older family dealing with serious cognitive decline and when it comes to my parents or in-laws I'm "the guy" so they will ask for my help navigating the TV because they are still understandably clinging onto satellite/cable while being forced to learn streaming. I'm more than happy to help as this is an area of interest but man, what I would do to be able to set my father-in-law…
FYI you can use a universal infrared remote with Apple TV, which might have larger buttons or a more familiar interface. I have mixed feelings myself about the "touchpad" in the apple remote.