Smart TV is one of the most convenient pieces of technology in today’s world. The idea will make much sense since it combines a set-top box, TV, and a computer all in one.
If you think intelligently, have you ever speculate why Smart televisions are getting day by day so cheap? You will be able to get a top of the line smart Television for as little as $700.
This price is not at all expensive for an always-connected experience, But the question came in every mind that why it is so cheap? As the Washington post’s Geoffrey fowler says “It is the data, stupid.”
Everyone smart televisions have been cleaning your data straight out of your living rooms for the sake of target marketing.
The argument has been making rounds on the internet for a while now, However, the brand new scandal is regarding software company (Samba TV),
An application included in smart televisions made by Philips, TCL, Sony, and many more manufacturers.
The app automatically uses ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) and says that it delivers “Essential television insights.”
Recently the New York Times says that “The application collects data on 13.5 million TV viewers under the claims of making personalized show recommendation.
The company has allegedly signed deals with a dozen TV makers including Sony, Sharp, Magnavox, Toshiba, and Philips.”
Backed By Research
The reason behind smart televisions spy on their users is backed by a number of studies.
The brand new researchers from Princeton and the University of Chicago tested 2000 channels on the Roku set-top box and Amazon fire television,
And found out that every signal channels were sending data to Facebook, Google, Amazon, and many more ad networks.
Another researcher from Northeastern University and Imperial College London found out that Roku, Apple Television, Amazon Fire,
Samsung Smart Televisions, send all collected data to Netflix even if the users don’t have Netflix installed.
Many Companies like Vizio and Samsung even use a Shazam-like feature for videos to find out what you are watching in your Smart Television. The data is then sent to many servers.
No Option to Turn it Off
However, These Smart television come with an option to turn the data collection off, Actually, it is only an illusion.
The television makers have settings that will allow anyone to adjust the amount of data collected, But they are awesome ineffective and don’t stop the television from sending out the data.
The only best way is to prevent this is by never connecting your smart television to the internet. If you have any kind of Question-related this article you may ask below in the comment section.
