The markets are abuzz with concerns like “Is my Smart TV Spying on me?”. Here, we try to look into what is known so far in this regard, and if the answer is yes, how can you protect yourself?
When compared to other technology available, smart TVs offer significant financial savings. You may not need streaming gadgets like a Fire TV Stick or Roku if they have built-in apps. As with all smart technology, convenience comes at a cost. The always-connected experience that smart TVs offer in exchange for a lot of user data.
How to stop personal data theft by your smart TV
A smart TV, be it of whatever brand, namely LG, Samsung, Sony, etc., essentially functions more or less along the same lines. People put their trust in reputed brands such as LG, Sony, Samsung, Philips, etc., and expect their data to be safe and sound owing to their trust in these companies. Here are a few measures you can adopt to reduce the chances of your data being stolen without your knowledge. ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) is a visual recognition tool that can recognize each advertisement, TV program, and movie you have on your TV. This covers streaming devices, cable and satellite TV, DVDs, and Blu-ray players. Various brands, such as LG, Sony, Philips, and Samsung, have different procedures in the user manual or their respective websites.
Other things to keep in mind while securing your smart TV
Other straightforward solutions might not be viable, like unplugging your internet-connected smart gadgets. As a result, devices that depend on a connection to the internet, such as voice assistants or the online functionality of intelligent TVs, become worthless and might not be a practical choice for most people. Also, blind trust in big names like LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL, Philips, etc. is a considerable folly in this era where nobody knows what sort of purpose the stolen data is put to use.
You can decide to keep these sophisticated devices outside your home if you believe they do not outweigh the potential risks to your privacy.
