Is Smart TV spying on you?

How do Smart TVs spy?

Privacy is at risk in the digital age

In today's digital age, Smart TVs have become an integral part of our homes. They not only entertain, but also provide us with streaming services, apps and many modern facilities by connecting to the Internet. But have you ever thought that Smart TV can also collect your personal information? Some facts that have come to light recently have further increased this concern.

Smart TVs can steal your information in many ways. If the remote has a microphone, it can listen and record the conversation. On hearing 'Alexa' or 'Hey Google', these gadgets start recording and send your conversation to the cloud server. Smart TVs also track app usage, content watched and its time. This data is allegedly used to give suggestions, but it can also be misused for monetization by sharing it with advertisers.

Smart TVs can also get information about other gadgets connected to the home's Wi-Fi network. This creates a database of the gadgets present in the house, which can be shared with third parties. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology tracks your watched channels, apps and gaming console usage. This data is sent to third parties such as advertising companies or data analysis firms.

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These are the ways to avoid it

By taking some simple steps, you can prevent your smart TV from spying. First of all, disable ACR by going to the settings of your TV. This option can usually be found under the name 'Privacy Settings', 'Viewing Data Collection' or similar. If your remote has a microphone and you do not use it, then turn it off. This will reduce the risk of your conversation being recorded.

Apart from this, read the privacy policy of the TV carefully and choose the option to opt out of data collection as far as possible. If you keep your smart TV completely offline, it almost eliminates the risk of data collection and hacking. However, this will not allow you to use features like streaming services. It is also important to keep your Wi-Fi network secure so that outsiders cannot access your TV.

If you keep your smart TV offline, the risk of hacking is reduced