What The Tech: Are smart tv’s spying on you?
BY JAMIE TUCKER, Consumer Technology Reporter
Your TV is spying on you. But not in the way you might think. Some TVs do have cameras for video calls, but the real spying doesn’t come from a camera.
It happens behind the scenes. And it’s one reason you can get a 50″ smart TV, for around $200.
Smart TVs are designed to track what you watch, how long you watch it, and even what you
search for. Manufacturers call this “post-purchase monetization”. In other words, they keep
making money off your TV, long after you buy it. As you might imagine, manufacturers collect
the data and then sell it to advertisers who use it to send you targeted ads.
The data isn’t tied directly to your name but is tied to your home IP address where everything is
connected. So the ads you see on your TV can also follow you onto your phone, your social
media feeds and even your email.
The data is so valuable the manufacturers make far more money selling it to advertisers than what they earn by selling you the TV. That’s one reason TV prices have dropped to crazy prices.
If that’s too invasive, you can take control by looking at the privacy options in your TVs settings
and turn on “limit ad tracking” or opt out of data collection all together.
You won’t see fewer commercials. But you’ll probably see more than you have no interest in. And it’s not just smart
TVs, devices like Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, and Google TV use the same strategy.
So TVs are getting cheaper, because we’re the product.
