Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Your TV Is Watching YOU


The Seattle Times (June 18, 2018) reported: "Your TV is watching you. Often, default settings (or screens you likely clicked “agree” to during setup) allow smart TVs, streaming boxes and cable services to track significant amounts of personal information. They know what you’re watching and what apps you use. In 2017, TV maker Vizio even had to pay millions to settle complaints from the Federal Trade Commission and the state of New Jersey for collecting this kind of data with users’ knowledge.

— Recent smart TVs from Samsung, the best-selling brand, track how you use your TV to target ads that Samsung inserts on menu screens.

During setup, the TV encourages you to agree to a bunch of terms of and conditions that include permission for “Interest-based advertisements.” You can say no them, but if you didn’t realize what was going on – or now you’re just not sure – you’ll have to dig into your TV’s settings to stop the tracking."
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This is just one small piece of a Settle Times series "Hands Off My Data" that provides guidance and recommendations on how to adjust settings on your various devices and accounts to help protect your privacy.

While we are all no doubt aware of potential privacy risks associated with on-line accounts, as more and more things become connected to the Internet we must not overlook the fact that they can be collecting information about us too.

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