Researcher raises alarming privacy concerns about Samsung TVs, even those without mics
Your Samsung TV might be a little too interested in your conversations.
A researcher named log4j has raised alarming privacy concerns about Samsung Smart TVs, even those without built-in microphones. According to the researcher, these TVs may be able to access microphones in connected soundbars and Bluetooth devices, although no independent evidence has confirmed this claim. Moreover, log4j alleges that Samsung TVs collect audio events, track viewing habits, and could potentially continue sending ACR telemetry even when the feature is disabled.
The researcher’s claims come amid Samsung's history of privacy scrutiny. The company faced a Texas ACR settlement and several lawsuits over data collection practices. Smart TVs have long been a source of privacy concerns due to the vast amount of information they collect about what users watch.
log4j, who goes by the same name on social media platform X, claims that Samsung TVs have the ability to search for microphones in connected soundbars and Bluetooth devices. The researcher further alleges that these TVs could use these external microphones to collect audio, which would then be transmitted back to Samsung. However, log4j has not publicly demonstrated that Samsung TVs can indeed record audio from these external microphones or transmit this information without users' knowledge.
Written by urgent.news from Android Authority's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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