LG "Smart" TV is spying on you

Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
It would be interesting to know if the other TV manufacturers are doing the same thing.
Yes, it would. I would *guess* that they are not all doing it, as it is the type of thing that one must be a total [insert obscene word here] to do, and also it is the sort of thing that can hurt sales when people find out about it.

But it would be good to hear about other TVs being examined for this sort of thing.

In my case, my TV is stupid, and it is not hooked up to the internet, so it isn't spying on me. Stupid and loyal is the way to have a TV.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
To get really paranoid, I wonder if streaming media devices such as Roku, Western Digital, and smart bluray players are doing it as well?
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
To get really paranoid, I wonder if streaming media devices such as Roku, Western Digital, and smart bluray players are doing it as well?
From the privacy policy of Roku:

Roku Devices regularly upload usage information to Roku as part of their use. The collected information includes the specific identifiers of streams played, duration played, various quality measures, error logs, software version numbers, and other usage statistics. Usage information uploaded from Roku Devices is personally identifiable by product serial number. In some instances, serial numbers are associated with personally identifiable information to aid in customer service and support.​

Privacy Policy US | Roku Streaming Player

So everything you view via a Roku is known to them. You should expect that when you use something online, the device will be revealing to someone everything that one does online. But the LG TV did more than just that; it also gave information regarding one's non-online activity that it was able to access. The Roku box isn't going to tell them what other TV shows you watch, just what you watch from the Roku box.
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
CPNI and PII boundaries have become a joke with companies and govt. agencies wantonly flaunting the rules.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
The PS4 has some new options that I didn't like - allow it to be remotely turned on via the network; which presumably is for accessing content from another location, but the potential is there for someone to have access to other devices this way. Another is allow it to automatically turn on and update all software while you are not using it. I turned both off. I also generally turn off my router when I leave so even if these were on, access cannot occur.
 
Tyfighter

Tyfighter

Junior Audioholic
My respect for LG has gone down the toilet with the various newsfeeds, which is where I they were at only less than a decade ago imo.
 
ImcLoud

ImcLoud

Audioholic Ninja
I don't see what the big deal is, what could the tv tell LG about us, that we watch old reruns of married with children? What are they doing with the info, selling it to Al qaeda? Im confused as to what the big deal is if they are "watching' what we are watching?????
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I don't see what the big deal is, what could the tv tell LG about us, that we watch old reruns of married with children? What are they doing with the info, selling it to Al qaeda? Im confused as to what the big deal is if they are "watching' what we are watching?????
Did you read the article? It goes deeper than that. The TV was actually reading off the file names from a USB drive and reporting that back too. All of the communication was un-encrypted, so anybody could pick that up along the way.

This is a huge privacy violation!

If we allow this, then the foot is in the door, and what is next? NOW is the time to take a stand and not put up with this BS!
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
If you are using the internet you have no privacy with anything you do on it. If you think you do then watch this video.
[video=youtube;hqKafI7Amd8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKafI7Amd8[/video]

No system is really secure and no system is private to a network. It's nice to pretend your safe, but just like your home isn't really safe from theft neither is your computer. Don't do anything on the internet you wouldn't want everyone to find out about.
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
If you are using the internet you have no privacy with anything you do on it. If you think you do then watch this video.
[video=youtube;hqKafI7Amd8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKafI7Amd8[/video]

No system is really secure and no system is private to a network. It's nice to pretend your safe, but just like your home isn't really safe from theft neither is your computer. Don't do anything on the internet you wouldn't want everyone to find out about.
The thing is, with the LG TV, you can't watch anything not online on it without them knowing about it. It sends them info about your files when you stick a memory stick into it, so you don't even have to actually watch the stuff for them to know about it. And not only do they know about it, they send the information unencrypted, so everyone between you and them can know about all of this as well, without any need for them to try to decrypt the data. Read the article at the first link and you will see.
 
its phillip

its phillip

Audioholic Ninja
Probably building up post count to start spamming :)
 
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