Sony and Samsung ... How to prevent personal information from being collected on smart TVs
TV makers VIZIO's TV sets are gaining popularity for their high quality and affordability. The VIZIO agreed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on February 6 (US time) to pay a fine of $ 22 million. It turns out that the company's TV is busy recording information about what programs users are watching and sending it to the company's servers. This information was sold to advertisers who wanted such data out of their throat.
This is a terrible act. However, VIZIO's violations, apart from their degree, are not uncommon. Certainly, there is no other smart TV platform like VIZIO that links viewing data at the IP level and sells it to the company that buys the most. However, many TVs track users' viewing habits to some extent. Also, companies like LG that have adopted "webOS" have stopped using the ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) feature, but the company's older models are still doing extensive espionage.
However, there is some informative information. There is a way to prevent smart TVs from spying on manufacturers to disseminate information. In fact, there's also an incredibly easy way to work with any commercial TV. Let's get started.
The easiest way
What's an easy way anyone can prevent Internet-connected TVs from sending data to ad tech servers around the world? That is to disconnect the TV from the Internet. In fact, this is the most recommended method.
Think about what the "smart" features of your tech TV are really useful. A tinsel interface. A voice command function that listens to what you say only if it works. A bargain sale ad that appears in unexpected places. Let's say goodbye to such things. Go to the settings screen, find a menu to turn Wi-Fi on and off, and turn it off immediately.
This doesn't mean you're forced to live without Netflix. If you want to use internet services on your TV, we highly recommend using a streaming box or dongle. Such devices are easier to use and usually have more features. Of course, viewing habits are tracked persistently ("Roku" is a good example), but at least the user has more control. Or at the very least, you can know in advance how it will be tracked.
For example, the Apple TV rarely tracks data. This is because it complies with Apple's privacy policy in principle. Also, "Chromecast" and "Android TV" are both made by Google. Therefore, it should comply with the privacy requirements that users have agreed to when using Google's services.
The exception is TVs with built-in traditional streaming box functionality. For example, "Roku TV" sold by TCL and Hisense in China and the environment provided by Sony's Android TV are the same as a single streaming set-top box, including the level that protects privacy. You can think about it.
