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Vizio May Soon Inform Customers When Its Smart TVs Are Spying On Them (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the heads-up dept.

Vizio is reportedly working on a way to let TV owners know when it spies on their viewing habits. According to The Verge, the company is developing a "notice program with direct notification to the class through Vizio Smart TV displays." The Hollywood Reporter first spotted the news. From the report: The news popped up in a request to extend the time needed to submit a motion for a preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit against the company. So basically, it's possible that Vizio users will get a pop-up notification that explains what the company is doing and when. The TV company already previously settled with the Federal Trade Commission for $2.2 million in 2017, along with the agreement to get users' consent before collecting data. The company was caught in 2015 tracking users' viewing habits and demographic data, which it combined to then sell to analytics and ad companies, thereby allowing them to better target their messaging.

39 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Never by dohzer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I know when mine is spying on me: never. Because I don't have a smart TV.

    1. Re:Never by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      My tv is from 2006.

      Plenty of DRM-free analogue connectivity options including the excellent SCART connector, now mostly killed by the multinationals.
      No internet connection, no smart tv spying, no abusive apps, no forced updates, no useless curved screen, no 3d fraud, no useless 4k.

      And no need to unplug it. Not worth of trust are car, (smart)phone,fridge and other IoT appliances. But my TV appliance I can still trust. The appliance, not what's broadcast into it...

    2. Re: Never by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Curved screens would be awesome for games if GPU's could adjust (i.e. distort) their output accordingly...

    3. Re: Never by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      You donâ(TM)t need a dumb TV. You need a smart TV with no access to the internet. And this is far, far easier to achieve

      Just donâ(TM)t give it your WiFi password. Iâ(TM)m not aware of any smart TVâ(TM)s that will point blank refuse to work without internet access.

      Use a dedicated device like an AppleTV or a Roku to do your streaming. And youâ(TM)re done.

    4. Re: Never by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      They absolutely can. We use GPU distortion correction to eliminate/reduce chromatic aberration in Virtual Reality sets, not to mention warping the image to fit the lens. The last gen of Nvidia cards came with a feature that allows all kinds of fun display warping effects. For example if you have 3 monitors, you can now adjust the perspective to be correct on each individual panel, allowing for a more immersive experience.

      --
      Good-bye
    5. Re:Never by DaMattster · · Score: 2

      I know when mine is spying on me: never. Because I don't have a smart TV.

      Yup, I refuse to get a SmartTV as well. And when that is the only kind of TV you can buy, I will just stop watching it altogether.

    6. Re: Never by NoZart · · Score: 2

      At least with samsung, i read somewhere that the TV connects automatically to an open AP if available to sneak out data.

      After the "insert ads into kodi/roku movies" and "oh btw our camera in the tv ALWAYS looks" and "don't mention passwords in front of the TV because we might record" bullshit i wouldn't put it above those scummy TV makers to just insert an LTE modem in the TV to enable it phoning home in any case.

      The only way to dodge this shit is to buy a public display, but those easily go for 4 times the price with lesser display tech.

    7. Re: Never by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Smart TV with pi-hole, job done.

    8. Re: Never by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 2

      You need a smart TV with no access to the internet.

      With the number of devices that now contain their own communications gear, relying on that strategy seems unwise.

      In any case, we tend to do much better when each device we have does one job well and those devices can talk to each other sensibly. Speakers in a TV are useful up to a point, but rarely as good as even entry-level dedicated speakers. Even tuners in a TV are mostly redundant now as the source for almost everything we watch comes via a separate PVR or Blu-Ray player or Chromecast/Fire stick or games console or some other box anyway. And most problems that make my TV and related devices slow, buggy and unreliable today in ways that would have been horrifying a decade or two ago are because someone's box is trying to be too damned clever and they aren't smart enough to make it actually work properly.

      GP was basically right. What we need these days is good screens, good speakers, good sources, good connectivity between them, and good control systems to get the content you want from its source to the relevant output devices quickly and easily. There is very little reason except marketing and greed to bundle substandard, short-lived versions of these different elements together and sell self-contained, limited, non-futureproof devices with the technology we now have, but marketing and greed plague this industry.

      --
      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
    9. Re:Never by jwhyche · · Score: 2

      You don't even need a TV these days to watch TV any more. Virtually everything you want to watch can be streamed internet browser. So if you really must watch TV you can just stream it to a window on a monitor.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    10. Re:Never by MerlTurkin · · Score: 1

      ^^^THIS^^^!

  2. Fantastic! by nospam007 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "it's possible that Vizio users will get a pop-up notification "

    Another popup to ruin my movie nights besides those from 'Logitech update available' and 'Windows Defender Summary.
    Can't wait.

    1. Re:Fantastic! by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      "it's possible that Vizio users will get a pop-up notification "

      The question is: Will it have a "no!" option?

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:Fantastic! by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      You can disable all of that. I dont allow windows to message me, at all.

      --
      Good-bye
  3. When does it spy on you? by fox171171 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When does it spy on you? When it is plugged in.

    Users may choose to opt out at any time by disconnecting the TV from the power source.

    1. Re:When does it spy on you? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "Users may choose to opt out at any time by disconnecting the TV from the power source."

      Power source? You mean, so that it can't spy on you when you're not in front of it but only when you use it?

      So it can't watch you vacuuming the floor but only when you masturbate to your porn?

    2. Re:When does it spy on you? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      Why not remove the network connection instead ?

    3. Re: When does it spy on you? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      > How about never spying?

      That's not something that I can control.

    4. Re:When does it spy on you? by AlanBDee · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Citation please?

    5. Re:When does it spy on you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Newer smart TVs are moving to cellular modems to transmit and receive user data so unless your living room is a faraday cage, or you actively jam cellular signals simply denying it a network connection won't work.

      Can you provide the name of even a single vendor doing this?

    6. Re:When does it spy on you? by crunchygranola · · Score: 1

      Yes, they should just put an embossed message on the screen bezel.

      --
      Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
    7. Re:When does it spy on you? by burtosis · · Score: 1

      The source is "Newer TVs are probably moving to cellular modems...". I posted from my mobile before coffee again and didn't check so I guess I deserve the karma. My reasoning is base analyitics are very very low bandwidth and the SoC capabilities grow every day along with the market to bypass attempts to block its internet access.

    8. Re:When does it spy on you? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      Cell connections have to be paid for, which would largely negate whichever small per-user amount they actually earn for this data. It's the reason Amazon was willing to give their higher-end Kindles cell access, because they understood those are profit-making devices. It has nothing to do with the cost or capabilities of the electronics, and hasn't been for a long time.

      Remember that this spying is for profit, not for any other reason.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    9. Re:When does it spy on you? by burtosis · · Score: 1

      Except a single e-book is probably 100 years of analyitics, and with a wired connection 95% of the time only 5% will ever need to use it. Maybe there would be other reasons as well for 100% such as drm.

  4. Let's them know by Daralantan · · Score: 1

    I hope it just says across the screen: "We're watching you...."

    1. Re: Let's them know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You can tell when they are lying. Their lips are moving.

  5. Novel Concept by alvinrod · · Score: 1

    Here's a novel concept. Just don't spy on your users and then you never have to worry about it.

    1. Re:Novel Concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      User? You're the product, sheeple.

    2. Re:Novel Concept by burtosis · · Score: 1

      Here's a novel concept. Just don't spy on your users and then you never have to worry about it.

      That's like asking wolves not to eat chickens because it isn't nice.

  6. Re:For schools only? by Desler · · Score: 1

    You're not genuinely that dumb are you?

  7. An LED Indicator by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 2

    Perhaps Vizio could design an LED indicator on the front of their products that will light up when their Smart TV is spying on a customer.

    It could even be a bi-color LED, that lights up with a certain color when the TV is on and spying on them at a high rate, and lights up with a different color when the TV is off and the level of spying has been slightly reduced.

  8. Re:Trying to patent the power LED, Vizio? by NoZart · · Score: 2

    Soon, that will not be the customers choice anymore. The TVs will come with mandatory LTE modems, some lines in the warranty about how this is this is TVAAS, and if you don't like it, don't buy the TV. You are looking for a set WITHOUT that feature? Yeah we got those, too. only up to 32 inches and in 720p, though.

  9. The stupid never stops these days by sad_ · · Score: 1

    What is it these days, whenever there is a problem/issue it seems the most stupid solution is selected.

    To this issue there are two possible things:
    1. stop spying on people
    2. add a fsck popup to tell people you are spying on them.

    Somehow the second option got chosen. So now you anger your users twice, once by spying and second by shoving a popup in their face saying you are spying on them. good god, we have really lost all ability to reason.

    --
    On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
  10. Mandatory "agree" by joe_frisch · · Score: 1

    I can see where this is going. We will get popups asking us to check "we give [company] permission to [spy on us]". Completely voluntary - except if you don't accept you can't use the TV. It will be like the "accept cookies" boxes when browsing in Europe. You can accept cookies, or you can not browse.

    The fine print will of course allow you to return your TV for a full refund - in the original packaging etc etc. (which almost no on e will do).

    Other manufactures will soon follow so you will basically have to accept a spying device if you want to watch TV. Same way you do if you want to use a cell phone, use a modern car, ride on public transport, etc etc .

    You basically need to agree to surveillance, or not interact with modern society.

  11. Press release... NOT!!! by dex22 · · Score: 1

    In a statement, Vizio said, "When we're secretly collecting information, we will project a glowing eye on the wall above and behind the TV. When we're sending that collected information to our servers the TV will make a mysterious whispering sound. The real innovation here is that the whispering will always be almost imperceptible regardless of the volume of the current sound playing on the TV. It senses it. It's really VERY clever. We got the patent last week!"

  12. Make Carefule Choices With Your Money by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

    You choose which companies go forward and which ones do not.
    If you make a spying bed, you will have to sleep in it.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
  13. Here's a better idea: DON'T SPY ON PEOPLE! by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 2

    How about you remove all ability of so-called 'smart TVs' to spy on anyone, ever, for any reason, you assholes?

  14. Re: Trying to patent the power LED, Vizio? by c-A-d · · Score: 1

    Nonsense. The tv just won't turn on unless it can reach the authorization server.

    --
    some karma... and kinda lukewarm about it.
  15. Never let your 'Smart TV' on your network by hoggoth · · Score: 1

    It's simple. Just don't give your Smart TV your wi-fi password. Ever. The Smart functions are terrible implementations anyway. Plug in something you trust more, like a Plex box, an Amazon Fire Stick or a Chromestick and let your TV be a dumb device that just displays whatever video signal you feed it.

    Samsung Smart TVs got caught *browsing your network shared folders and sending your filenames to a server in South Korea*. There is no possible legitimate excuse for that. Don't trust consumer electronics devices!

    Personally, I'd never trust an Alexa or similar device either, but YMMV.

    --
    - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)