According to two academic research carried out in the UK and the US, smart TVs (i.e. televisions that connect to the internet) send sensitive data about their owners to numerous internet companies, such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix, even when they are not. are active. The information sent via the connection includes the type of television used, its location and the times of use.
A group of researchers from Northeastern University (Boston) and Imperial College London noted that some models of smart TVs (produced by large companies such as LG and Samsung) and devices to connect to regular televisions to take advantage of online services (such as Fire TV Amazon and Roku) send various data to Netflix and digital ad managers. According to the analysis, data is sent regardless of whether or not you are subscribed to Netflix.
The research was carried out on 81 different devices, used in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and resulted in the exposure of various user data. The information provided by the devices is sent to Amazon, Google, Akamai and Microsoft. These companies operate the largest cloud services in the world, supported by companies that provide online streaming content.
Amazon – which manages cloud technologies with its AWS division – receives information from about half of the 81 devices tested at Northeastern University. By putting together information from millions of users, the company can potentially get a pretty clear idea of the habits of owners of smart TVs and home 'smart' devices. For example, it can know when you are at home, when the devices are used the most and how often.
Amazon can of course obtain this information directly from the systems it sells under its own brand, such as the Fire TV and Echo, but according to the researchers, it can obtain similar information from devices manufactured by others that rely on its cloud services to function.
By analyzing the online traffic produced by the 81 devices tested, the researchers concluded that the information sent includes at least: data on the device, where it connects, interaction times. Overall, the information is sent in encrypted form, so researchers don't know exactly what other data is being transmitted.
A study carried out by Princeton University has instead highlighted how some applications that can be installed on Fire TV and Roku send large amounts of data, including those to distinguish users, to third-party companies including Google.
The companies involved have provided their version on the dissemination of data through smart TVs and other devices for the home. Google explained that developers of smart TV applications can use systems offered by Google to show advertisements and evaluate their performance. User data is shared with Google only if they have expressly indicated that they want to do so, as is already the case on smartphones or when using Google's online services. However, the company has confirmed that depending on the device and the user's choices, the data transmitted may include the location, the type of device and what you are watching at that moment.
Netflix has confirmed that it receives data from some smart TVs even when users are not logged in or do not have an account for its streaming service. In the latter case, the information is limited to giving the company the opportunity to understand how its application appears on the screen and whether it is sufficiently prominent. Netflix also explained that it does not receive any other information or data on the activities carried out on smart TVs.
Almost all the activities we carry out online are kept under control and measured by automatic systems: it happens when we browse the Web (on the pages of social networks, but also on the Post and on any large site), when we activate an application on our smartphone or when we look a video on YouTube. However, the two researches show how practices of this type, made explicit in the conditions of use of the various services and which often require explicit authorizations, are carried out in a more subtle and opaque way for users on home devices, from smart TVs to voice assistants. The sector is not yet sufficiently regulated and this entails greater risks for the privacy of users, who should be helped to make a more informed use of the connected objects that are placed in the house.
