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Cybersecurity bounty hunter says Samsung TVs use AI to record audio and screenshots for ads
(www.tomshardware.com)
this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2026
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Privacy
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I kind of need a tutorial how to use a samsung (or whatever brand) smart tv without them tracking us like that - but with still being able to stream netflix and stuff, I just wanna have both, streaming & privacy π
I'm sorry to break it to you but streaming services and privacy don't mix. Your best bet is to sail the high seas.
Yup, 'smart' TVs should never get a live internet connection, ever. Don't give it a WIFI password, if you have made that mistake change the password now. Attach a computer, preferably Linux, and use it as a monitor. Even if you then go ahead and use a streaming service (boo), at least you're not just giving audio/video of your living room to Samsung as well.
I have an antenna for local tv and if there's a movie I want to watch I load it onto a USB stick and plug it into the side of the TV.
Nothin' wrong with a good ol' fashioned sneakernet solution!
This right here!
Ever read the ToS of a streaming service in detail? Even if you subscribe to the premium ad free plan you agree to let them profile your habits and sell those to others for advertising purposes, etc.
A service remembering how I used it is not the same problem as its app spying on my living room.
Completely false. I stream without problems, while still retaining all my privacy. (I stream from my friends jellyfin servers)
How did you get rid of the content recognition?
I have some rules in my firewall! Everything is blocked! Only github and my friends domains are let through! Github because i use obtainium.
By using either streamio or jellyfin
All of the ACR βfeaturesβ and the audio capture features are behind separate, optional EULAs that the TV will work fine without. The GN video about LG was behavior if you agree to every EULA as well. You can add on a pi-hole and a smart tv blocklist for added protection, e.g., https://github.com/hkamran80/blocklists/blob/main/smart-tv.txt
Itβs very easy to setup Wireshark and capture the traffic coming off your devices as well if you want to be sure.
Disconnect your TV from the internet and use a streaming stick. AppleTV is the least evil among the commercial ones. So you still have the normal streaming experience without the TV spying on you. However, as others have mentioned, these TVs are so bad that they try to find nearby unsecured wifi to transmit your data. So unless your immediate neighbors all have password protected wifi, and no one with an open hotspot gets in range, there's still a chance.
Just get a minipc and wireless keyboard. It's less of a headache than trying to make a smart tv not a privacy nightmare with how you can't even replace the TV OS for most of them like you can for some phones. They aren't worth connecting to the internet if you care about privacy.