Your Smart TV May Be Pirating You!

By JR Minor

We've all heard of Pirating TV, Now Your New Internet Ready Smart TV may be Pirating You! That brand new Smart TV you bought for the Super Bowl could be Spying On You right now!

Smart TV's make it easier for us to stream more TV services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Roku, without having to get or use a separate box. They include many free services such as Pluto TV and YouTube without having to use a computer or mobile device! 

Of course, this is only possible when the TV is actually connected to the Internet! If you don't feel comfortable with the risk, you can always go back to the old Dumb TV by disconnecting it from the outside world!

A famous quote by -Brom says “Everything comes with a price. Everything! Some things just cost more than others”. In this case - your privacy is the cost! These new TV's are using a technology called ACR and they are watching, collecting, and listening to your every move! 

What Is ACR And How Does It Work?

ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) Identifies the show, media, or stream, you play or watch, including DVDs and Off Air TV, and sends the data back out over the internet to the company or third party. The data helps companies know what you like to watch so it targets ads to meet your interest! Much like a Nielsen Survey on steroids! 

VIZIO Is Tracking What You Watch!

In February 2017, Smart TV Company Vizio was fined 2.2 Million dollars by the US Federal Trade Commission for spying on Users! The Vizio Smart TV's were tracking everything their users watched and sending the data back to the company's web server. 

Vizio immediately stopped the practice and changed their software to a Chrome Cast like software called Smart Cast. Of course, the older sets do still have the software in them, and Google still collects your data anyway! 

Samsung, LG, & Others May Be Listening Too!

Many of the newer Samsung Smart-TVs have a Voice Recognition System with a built in Microphone similar to the Amazon Alexa. You simply say "Hi TV" and tell the TV what you want it to do. While this is all well and good, the feature may be doing a little more than just what you say!

Samsung's Smart TV Privacy Policy has a sentence embedded in the policies that reads -

“Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party". 

TV makers such as LG have similar statements and Voice Recognition features that may also use the same technology. If you don't trust these features just disable them! A short guide is found at the end of this post. 

Is My TV Watching Me?

Michael Price is a counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYC School of Law. Mr Price says that "Some Smart-TVs even have cameras enabled with facial recognition technology, and are recording images of users — all of which is mentioned in the paper manual that comes with a TV, a packet that most people neglect to read"!

There are some models of Samsung TV's that advertise having Cameras built in! There are rumors on the Internet that claim other models have surreptitious hidden cameras built into the screen and point to small holes in the upper corners of the TV Screen!

Now I guess we have to stop watching TV in our undies, and maybe some things that you might not want others to see! 

SAMBA is Coming! (2018 - 2019)

A San Francisco based software company developed a software called SAMBA that is designed to collect personal information, and other data. The company is said to have agreements with TV manufacturers such as Sony, Sharp, TLC, and Phillips. The software may be incorporated into their TV products in 2018/2019 unless Federal Legislation stops the process.

Setting up a TV with SAMBA for the first time - the screen asks you to enable the SAMBA software. The policy may be deceiving to the consumer by stating “Interact with your favorite shows. Get recommendations based on the content you love. Connect your devices for exclusive content and special offers. By cleverly recognizing onscreen content, Samba Interactive TV lets you engage with your TV in a whole new way.” 

Senators Concerned About Privacy! (2018)

Senators Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, said they were concerned about “consumer privacy issues raised by the proliferation of smart-TV technology". They have teamed up to ask Joseph Simons, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, to look into the matter of companies collecting personal data from consumers who may be unaware their privacy is being invaded! Official letters have been filed - but legislation may be a long wait! 

Can The Software Be Hacked To Stop It?

That question becomes a little sticky says Michael Price (NYC School Of Law). Different TV's use different Operating Software. For instance, some use WebOS, Linux, and others such as FireTV, Firestick, and RokuTV, use Android OS. Price says that these devices all have built in Copy Protection features called DRM (Digital Rights Media) to protect the stream from being copied.

Tampering or Hacking the software may be a Federal Felony under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. So the answer is yes it can - but you run the risk of being illegal by tampering with, or modifying the software! 

Turning Spy Features Off!

LG Smart-TVs

* Click the Menu Button on the remote

* Select Settings.

* Highlight Smart Interactivity

* Press right arrow to turn setting Off

New Samsung Smart-TVs Models

* Click the Settings icon from the main menu

* Click Support -- Scroll down to Terms & Policies

* Turn Off Viewing Information Services (Turns Off ACR)

* Turn Off Interest Based Advertising

* Turn Off Voice Recognition Services (Turns Off Voice Commands Feature)

Older Samsung Smart-TVs

* Select Icon Setting

* Click Support

* Find Terms & Policy -

* Turn Off SyncPlus & Marketing

* Turn Off Voice Recognition (Turns Off Voice Commands Feature)

Vizio Smart-TVs

* Select System on the TV Remote

* Click Reset & Admin

* Navigate Arrow Keys to Viewing Data and Turn it Off (Turns Off ACR)

Note: Viewing Data is called Smart Interactivity on Older Vizio TV's

Amazon Fire TV Edition TVs (Some Models of Insignia and Toshiba TVs)

* Click Settings on the Remote

* Click Applications

* Turn Off - Collect App and Over-the-Air Usage Data

Turn Off Personalized Ads

* Click Settings on the Remote

* Click Preferences

* Scroll to Advertising Data and Opt-Out

Sony Smart-TVs

Many New Sony TVs use the Android TV OS, Which includes Google, Sony, and Samba TV. When first setting up the TV, the device will ask you to agree to the policies of these companies. You will Not be able to By-pass the Google settings and they will track you as they always do anyway!

* Press Home from the Remote

* Click Settings

* Scroll to Initial Setup (Click No if you see Change Network)

* Find Sony Bravia policy - Click Agree -

* Click through to Samba User Agreement

* Click Disable (Right Side Of Screen) -

* Click Disable again to Confirm! (Turns Off ACR)

Samsung Smart-TVs (With Voice Recognition)

* Press Settings on the Remote

* Select Smart Features

* Scroll down to Voice Recognition and turn it Off

Note: This will disable the "Hi TV" Command to Activate Voice Features, However, The Feature can still be used by pressing the microphone button on your remote! 

How Can We Stop The Process Completely?

The best answer is to disconnect from the Internet and go back to the old Dumb TV! The question is not really "How To Disconnect" but really "How Much Data are we willing to share?"

If you disconnected the TV today from the Internet and have Cable TV, the Cable Box is really doing the same thing! The main difference is that the Cable box can only collect what you watch on Cable! If you use a Streaming Box such a Roku Box, the box can only collect what you stream!

One option is to use a Fake email when setting up the device or using a VPN software to protect your IP address! A next best option would be to turn Off the options listed here, use a streaming box with Android OS and install a VPN, then put a sticker over the TV hole you suspect is a camera!

Who would have ever dreamed that we would have to worry about the Privacy of watching TV in our own home?