Smart TVs sending sensitive user data to Netflix and Facebook

Post by chopin » Thu, Sep 19, 2019, 7:15 AM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #310

dreamcompiler wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At which point I hope there will be websites describing how to take the TV apart and disable the 5G modem. Or somebody will invent a small short-range backhaul-less 5G spoof microcell you can put next to the TV that will confuse the TV's modem into connecting to nothing. Or just wrap the TV in a Faraday cage. But keeping the screen visible might make that tricky.

At which point I hope there will be websites describing how to take the TV apart and disable the 5G modem. There's always been rumours that some Intel vPro CPUs have modems (and entire secondary CPUs..) built in to the chip itself. Atom x3/x5/x7 processors have a modem in the CPU package. I imagine disabling the modem without breaking the TV would be impossible.

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 19, 2019, 7:24 AM UTC

kokx wrote: post #315

ghostpepper wrote: post #312

I 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 a Humax "monitor". It only has 4 HDMI inputs and a USB input (never used it, probably for viewing things on a random USB stick). If you have a separate box for TV anyways, its perfect. Don't need anything else. Otherwise, you can simply not connect your smart TV to the internet. Just leave it unconnected and use it as if it is a dumb TV.

Post by 76 » Thu, Sep 19, 2019, 7:24 AM UTC

nerdponx wrote: post #273

jchrome wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not for attribution. It’s for exposure. If Pepsi buys $1M in ads on NBC, it only knows the DMA and time slot/programs it bought the ads on. It doesn’t know the households it bought the ads on. With ACR data, it will know that you were exposed. From there, they can do a few different things. Audience studies (like they reached 2000 households with a certain income etc). Or they can run attribution studies. A company c…

What's funny about this is that I think this is a legitimate and relatively non-evil use case. It all comes down to lack of transparency/oversight and the option to exercise control as an individual.

Post by Libre___ » Thu, Sep 19, 2019, 7:29 AM UTC

Post by jobigoud » Thu, Sep 19, 2019, 7:34 AM UTC

rodgerd wrote: post #240

sjwright wrote: post #220

Earlier 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.