Your Smart TV is taking screenshots of your screen every 15 seconds

nnowflux about 3 hours ago 29 commentsRead Article on twitter.com

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Discussion (29 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

peterlk•about 2 hours ago

https://xcancel.com/heynavtoor/status/2044433988312560051

rationalist•about 3 hours ago

I took out the Wi-Fi module before I ever powered up the TV. I don't want to have to trust that a guest won't try to connect to their own hotspot to watch their Netflix on my TV.

foresto•24 minutes ago

If I had to buy a smart TV, this is what I would do. It's the only way to be sure.

Sadly, the purchase would still reward the company for making a spyware screen, and signal that I find it acceptable, which is why I plan to avoid them forever.

arijun•9 minutes ago

I think these TVs are subsidized by the ad revenue, so you might cause them more pain by buying one and never connecting it.

landgenoot•28 minutes ago

What is the framework of the TV's these days? I still have a 2011 high end Samsung that has no Wifi, but this thing is not going to last forever.

angry_octet•about 2 hours ago

I'm curious to know whether my Google TV is surveilling my use of Netflix and other apps. If I watch something via XBMC streaming does it sample it?

It would be a shame if I had to have my own HDMI generator go back to switching inputs.

its-summertime•about 3 hours ago

https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.06203 the study

Instructions given from the twitter thread but are probably slop:

Samsung:

Menu → Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Terms & Privacy → Turn off "Viewing Information Services"

LG:

Settings → General → System → Additional Settings → Turn off "Live Plus"

Settings → Support → Privacy & Terms → User Agreements → Turn off "Viewing Information"

Roku TVs (TCL, Hisense, Philips, Insignia, Onn, Sharp, and others):

Settings → Privacy → Smart TV Experience → Turn off "Use Info from TV Inputs"

Settings → Privacy → Advertising → Turn off "Personalize Ads"

Sony:

Settings → All Settings → Turn off "Samba Interactive TV"

Vizio:

Settings → All Settings → Admin & Privacy → Turn off "Viewing Data"

Amazon:

Settings → Preferences → Privacy Settings → Turn off "Device Usage Data", "Collect App and Over-the-Air Usage", "Interest-Based Ads"

m463•6 minutes ago

I thought texas sued them all because they did it even after changing settings.

mlindner•about 2 hours ago

FWIW, I would not trust LG here to actually do nothing even after turning all the elements off, their GUI is especially "web"-like. Just leave it disconnected.

I don't understand why people can't just get a secondary device for accessing live streaming programs. There's numerous devices you can buy that do it.

TVs should not be connected to the internet. The incentive structures are just too bad against the user.

0cf8612b2e1e•about 1 hour ago

How do you know the TV will not also screenshot the HDMI input? That’s what I would do if I were looking to further milk the rubes buying my tv.

Larrikin•5 minutes ago

The TV can take all the screenshots it wants in that scenario. It isn't connected to the Internet

arijun•8 minutes ago

It seems like they do? That’s why gp suggested disconnecting the Wi-Fi entirely.

AirMax98•about 2 hours ago

Dumb devices have gotta be a billion dollar market at this point.

rationalist•about 1 hour ago

I bought a dumb 4K TV years ago. When I looked not too long ago, I couldn't find any for sale.

kstrauser•about 2 hours ago

Maybe, but since I'll never connect that sucker to a network, it'll just have to sit and brood on them.

GauntletWizard•about 2 hours ago

They're increasingly turning to contracts with Comcast and AT+T so that even if you don't have them on the network, they can phone home on the neighbor's wifi.

big_toast•about 1 hour ago

Do you have additional information about this? I'm having trouble finding reporting or discussion on it.

GauntletWizard•33 minutes ago

That's because they understand how creepy it is. But you can find plenty of pieces about what great things it's doing for local municipalities, who have comparably small budgets, and read between the lines.

https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-expands...

LocalH•about 1 hour ago

Don't forget they can just drop a 4G modem into the TV too.

therobots927•about 3 hours ago

I changed the WiFi password as never told my Samsung the new one. I expect this will work for a year or two until they figure out how to force their way onto the network.

jhhh•about 3 hours ago

Amazon sidewalk and related technologies will likely allow devices to bypass needing your network at all in the future. The last TV that doesnt support these features will probably be my last.

cwillu•about 3 hours ago

Thank god the EoH never became a thing, despite being in the HDMI standard

cma•about 3 hours ago

They will probably eventually upload stuff through people walking by with Samsung phones or smart tags.

m463•5 minutes ago

look up 5g miot. 6g will be worse.

ezekg•about 3 hours ago

Do you just use a Roku to watch stuff or what?

therobots927•35 minutes ago

Amazon fire stick

mlindner•about 2 hours ago

What is of value to watch on any of the streaming platforms?

Netflix content is atrophying. Disney Plus is dying. To say nothing of Hulu or others.

I watch youtube. The content is way more varied and interesting and less sanitized.

bitwize•about 3 hours ago

There's a wonderful thing that we used to have and still do have, but might be going away soon. It's called "terrestrial television". For decades people streamed programming over the airwaves, straight off the antenna! For free! Ad-supported of course, but... no tracking! (Actually opt-in tracking with a Nielsen People Meter.)

dlcarrier•about 3 hours ago

You can also use a DVR to record terrestrial broadcast TV, and there's even tools to automatically skip ads: https://github.com/Protektor-Desura/jellyfin-dvr-comskip