If you connect that TV to the Internet at all, expect no privacy. Samsung TVs were used to spy on people for years by spy agencies simply because they are prolific, and have things like microphones and other sensors all over them. Samsung themselves has to admit in discovery that they use said sensors to monitor users, and that's aside from all the data the OS collects. If you do hook it up to the internet, get a pihole on your network and a Blocklist for SmartTVs.
this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
12 points (87.5% liked)
Privacy
31991 readers
734 users here now
A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
Some Rules
- Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
- Don't promote proprietary software
- Try to keep things on topic
- If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
- Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
- Be nice :)
Related communities
Chat rooms
-
[Matrix/Element]Dead
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
I have a pihole already, so I guess I could use that.
Any idea how much that would block?
And besides the sensors, what data is the OS collecting? Wouldn't the Chromecast collect the same amount of data?
Thankfully, Samsung endpoints should be pretty well covered by blocklists, so I'd say most if not all.
SmartTV OS's record everything you do on the device and create massive databases of metrics about user habits which they then use to target you with ads, and also sell back to companies like Netflix, Discovery, Paramount...etc.
Slightly off topic, but one major benefit for me with Chromecast and keeping the TV offline is software bloat.
Our old Samsung TV running tizan had so many shitty updates that slowed the UI down to what felt like over a second delay when using the remote.
In any scenario the brand of smart TV is irrelevant as thet all impair your privacy. Cost and effort are sadly now a feature, but not too much of a challenge. Never connect your TV to the internet directly. The easiest step is a Chromecast. I recently needed to replace my dumb TV with a smart TV. For me I just bought a TV at a price point that allowed me to also buy a used old PC box plus a wireless keyboard a touchpad. You could alternately use a Raspberry Pi. Either way, you ultimately have control of what is shared or escapes for your privacy.