Smart TV’s - Is it smart to own one?

[sumdumguy]

Spooky - We had company at our house last weekend and we were hunting for a web site to load audio books. Now we were hunting on our guest’s cel phone but the next day the information we were looking for shows up on my smart TV. This “ thing” was spying on us. This was not the first time we noticed a “coincidence”.

So, I start researching Smart TV’s on the internet. These things have eyes and ears - maybe more.

Letting my imagination go a little further - where are these creatures made? Is spy technology getting built into every car - every computer - every phone? Don’t dare fart!

[Oliver88]

I remember hearing on the news similar complaints for LG’s smart TV and LG got in trouble/slap on the wrist for spying.

Was this the brand?

[sumdumguy]

TV is Samsung - about 5 years old.

[pourfarmer]

Spooky - We had company at our house last weekend and we were hunting for a web site to load audio books. Now we were hunting on our guest’s cel phone but the next day the information we were looking for shows up on my smart TV. This “ thing” was spying on us. This was not the first time we noticed a “coincidence”.

So, I start researching Smart TV’s on the internet. These things have eyes and ears - maybe more.

Letting my imagination go a little further - where are these creatures made? Is spy technology getting built into every car - every computer - every phone? Don’t dare fart!

No the AI simply detected they were within range of your wifi network (even if not connected), and the search deviated from their normal patterns (likes, dislikes, previous searches, etc) so it assumed (with very good accuracy) that you were the one doing the searching, or initiating the search. So it made the decision to show you an ad on the other devices attached to your wifi network .

The personal devices have a digital handshake that can identify other devices (and whom owns them, according to their digital profile of that device) near by even when they aren't on the same network. Once they have identified all devices within range it starts trying to coordinate who might be doing the talking, searching, etc. it does this in real time.

It truly is scary, more people need to be concerned.

[6V53]

TV is Samsung - about 5 years old.

I have a Samsung tablet, cell phone, and printer. Read the fine print when you're setting them up,you give them permission to spy on you. Most websites spy on you,even your pick-up truck is recording data. And Trump is worried about Huawei.

[Guest]

Sometimes i put my bare arse right up to that little spy camera lol

[sumdumguy]

Sometimes i put my bare arse right up to that little spy camera lol

Case, who Ass Ked you?

[Braveheart]

Would your activity be connected to your IP address. Phone, tv, tablet all sharing same IP

[Marusko]

If your guest's phone was connected to your wifi, it's pretty simple for the tech company algorithms or whatever to link that phone to your TV.

I swear they don't need that shared network though anyway. My phone asks me to review places I've visited when I bring my phone. One time combining, A&W burgers were brought from 10 miles away. I shortly got a review request for A&W. I never stepped foot outside the field. Somehow the system connected me and my phone to the phone of the person who brought us supper. Unreal.

[sumdumguy]

Yes Marusko, she did have her phone on my WiFi. Guess that makes sense.Thanx

[Rareearth]

And don’t be talking or do things in front of your tv that you wouldn’t do with your phone🙂

[LEP]

I guess the smart tv in our bedroom has seen a couple big full moons.😁

[beaverdam]

LEP, makin' movies, and didn't even know it.

[15444]

Would your activity be connected to your IP address. Phone, tv, tablet all sharing same IP

You start bringing fact into this conversation and someone here might actually learn something.

Honestly, why the hell does a person have a smart TV when they don't even understand what the term means. People want this stuff. They want the TV to record their favorite shows when they forget, they want the Nest thermostat to know how they like their home heated and cooled at all hours of the day, they want their fridge to tell them what food inside is overdue to be thrown out or what needs to be restocked, etc, etc.

If the future scares anyone, there are still landlines in the ground and used CRT projection TV's available. Seen a 50" on Facebook Marketplace today for free. Just need 4 guys to move it and a chiropractor on speed dial.

A telegraph machine and yo-yo might be even safer. Or maybe just mail a postcard and play with your ding-a-ling.

[Ache4Acres]

This does happen all the time. As there are more connected devices there are more ears and eyes

A few friends and I talk about this fairly often and we always test it out by purposely starting a discussion about an odd topic...most recently it was dog food even though none of us have dogs...then we wait to see if our devices start showing dog food ads. It didn’t happen this time but it has in the past!!

Anything going through your wifi or home router is highly tracked and monitored. Safer to be on LTE or 3G. If really concerned, there are lots of good VPN services - I use VirtualShield VPN on my phone and home computer especially when doing banking or filling out forms on strange networks or when travelling.