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Some smart TVs collect personal data and track users' online behavior.
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AARP members and readers are invited to submit pressing technology questions they’d like me to tackle in my Tech Guru column, including issues around devices, security, social media and how all the puzzle pieces fit together. Many people have expressed concern about their televisions and how much it learns about them without viewers even noticing.
I’ve been thinking of buying a new television but have heard that smart TVs can snoop on me. Should I be concerned? —John C.
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Just about any television you buy these days carries the “smart” designation. That means it can connect to the internet as well as streaming content and apps, some of which are preloaded on the TV.
However, John, as with most cybergear, smart TV technology is a double-edged sword. Sure, you can watch your favorite fare on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney Plus, Hulu, Netflix and all the rest, or play games and view pics of the kids and grandkids on a larger screen. But smart TVs also present some of the same potential risks as any other internet-capable product you might use, mostly in how companies attempt to vacuum up personal data and track your online behavior.
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AARP writer Ed Baig will answer your most pressing technology questions every Tuesday. Baig previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune, and is author of Macs for Dummies and coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies.
While Mata Hari — Google her — isn’t hiding in your smart television, TV manufacturers and their partners want to know what you’re watching, what apps you turn to the most, where you’re watching from and so on, ostensibly to serve up tailored ads.
“The truth is that for a good number of TV brands, advertising is now the real profit generator, hence the push for data collection and selling/sharing,” says James K. Wilcox, senior electronics editor at Consumer Reports. As part of its TV ratings, Consumer Reports considers the various ways that brands collect, use and share data, and how transparent they are about their data practices.
Many smart TVs are also equipped with microphones or remote controls with mics that raise questions about other privacy risks. Of less concern are webcams inside TVs, since few have them and they haven’t caught on in a big way.
That said, if you do have a TV with one, make sure you know how to turn the camera off when you’re not using it.
Worrying about smart TV snooping isn’t new.
As far back as 2017, Vizio agreed to pay $2.2 billion to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint in which the TV maker was accused of capturing data on what viewers were watching without their consent, starting earlier that decade.
A year later, Consumer Reports found that TVs from Roku and Samsung were vulnerable to hackers, including the capability to change channels, raise the volume and play unwanted videos. Those issues were subsequently addressed.
In 2019, an FBI field office in Oregon cautioned that internet-connected TVs could open a door into your living room that manufacturers, streaming providers and hackers might exploit.
This past February, Samsung settled a suit with the Texas attorney general to ensure that the TV maker would not collect viewer data “without consumers being fully informed and consenting prior to any information being collected.”
The state of Texas secured a similar settlement with LG Electronics on May 11.
As of this writing, cases against Sony, Hisense and TCL are ongoing.
Video: How To Keep Your Smart TV Running Smoothly and Safely
What can you do?
I’m not suggesting you refrain from buying a smart TV. But you can decrease the likelihood that your TV will spy on you with abandon, starting with just after you plug the TV in.
While it varies by brand, your TV may present you with a series of opt-in privacy preferences during this initial setup. Don’t blindly agree to the manufacturer’s defaults. Read the descriptions of what’s being asked.
The companies routinely leverage technology called automatic content recognition, or ACR, though it sometimes shows up as something else.
“The TV manufacturers have a lot of little checkboxes hidden in the settings menus under ‘system’ and ‘privacy,’ and you really have to dig for them,” says Dan Ackerman, editor in chief of the news arm of the Micro Center retail site. “You want to turn off anything that says it’s going to serve you live advertising content [or] monitor what you’re watching.”
No wonder The New York Times’ Wirecutter service likened smart TVs to “tattletales.”
ACR can capture anything that goes through your screen, including video from third-party devices connected to the TV. On an LG TV in my family room, I found an automatic content-recognition descriptor and the associated user agreements buried under Settings | General | About This TV | User Agreements.
Another explanation found in Settings on the LG was for a feature called Live Plus, in which the TV uses ACR to “recognize the content on the screen and to enable interactive overlaps, polls, reminders and ad overlays.” Another listing under User Agreements, written in legalese, was for something labeled as “Interest-Based & Cross-Device Advertising Agreement.”
Privacy settings on a Fire TV in my kitchen also explained how ACR is put to use, which Amazon benignly says is to collect “data about what you watch on this TV and to improve our products and services.… We may also use data collected through ACR to build other features that personalize your viewing experience, such as offering more relevant content recommendations and adverts.”
You may have to decide how smart your TV should be.
As a user, you may not be totally in control of your privacy. If you don’t agree to certain privacy policies, you may not be able to use the TV as a fully functioning smart TV.
One thing you will want to do: Install the periodic software updates from your TV manufacturer. You also should make sure the apps on the TV are kept current.
People have different tolerances for privacy, of course. But it’s probably a fair assumption that most of us would rather watch the TV than have the TV watch us.
Bonus tip: Use external devices for streaming services
If you’ve connected a third-party device for your streaming services — such as Apple TV 4K, various Fire TV cubes and sticks, Google TV Streamer or one of several types of Roku streaming players — consider disconnecting the Wi-Fi on the TV itself once you’ve set it up.
Instead, use the Wi-Fi on the external device connected to the TV. You can stream content directly from that box without fretting that the TV is sharing your data.
Pay close attention to the privacy settings on that device, and turn off any default options you’re uncomfortable with. Such options may be easier to manage.
As Micro Center’s Ackerman puts it, “The TV itself doesn’t need to be online.”
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