💾 Archived View for privacy.flounder.online › article_smarttv.gmi captured on 2022-04-29 at 15:11:33. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-17)
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In order to use a smart TV, user has to accept Terms of Service (TOS) set by TV manufacturer. Usually the terms and privacy policies allow almost every possible form of surveillance one could imagine (targeted marketing, voice recording, access to search history, etc) when using browser, video apps and other "smart features". The user may be able to opt-out from these features, but that is not guaranteed. Some forms of tracking may be considered "vital features" so users are not allowed to opt-out. This is up to service provider (manufacturer). Generally speaking, TOS usually grants service provider the right to change terms unilaterally, so user's right to privacy is not carved into stone.
To sum up: This is the reason why smart TVs are cheap; they collect and sell user data to third parties, thus allowing lower TV prices.
a) Service providers may use surveillance techniques not mentioned in the terms of service. That is, service provider apply new forms of surveillance before they update their TOS and inform end-users.
b) Smart TV may be hacked and therefore be vulnerable to various threats.
If there's any form of surveillance in smart TV, it wouldn't work properly without internet connection. Personal information could be gathered, but it couldn't be sent without established network connection. Therefore, disabling internet connection in a Smart TV is very good choice. Secondly, users should opt-out from all data collection programs just to be sure. These privacy options are typically found in TV's system settings.
Simply stated:
What happens next? Most of the TV's features are unusable. Basically it's just "dumb TV" with lots of bloatware. Next question would be then... how to remove bloatware? Would it be more useful to get a projector?
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Last updated: 8.12.2021