The fine print offered by Samsung regarding their new Smart TV is something you need to dwell on.
Not only does the TV recognize your voice, but it will record your conversations even when you do not know you are being listened to. Additionally, this information will be used by Samsung. And, according to their fine print, may also be used by third-parties they decide to work with.
But, they say, don’t worry, they take our privacy very seriously.
This story was first broken by @ShaneHarris of The Daily Beast and then also reported on by @ChrisMatyszczyk of CNET. We all owe these writers a big debt of gratitude for bringing this to our attention.
The Samsung privacy note reads, in part: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party.”
We will continue to track the reporting on the topic.
Our recommendations:
- For now you have to play it safe. The threat to your personal or business privacy is too great for you to have one of these devices anywhere. Do not order one.
- If you have already ordered one, return it. Get something safer.
- If you already ordered a Samsung smart TV and if returning it is not an option, disconnect it from the Internet.
- If you are gutsy and a gambler, maybe order one of these for one of your competitors. Some of their conversations might end up at some Samsung third party vendor that gets compromised by anonymous (sorry, just poking fun at Samsung with this one, we actually don’t recommend anyone, even your competitors, use this).
Bottom line: make your own risk-based decision, but arm yourself with all the facts first, and till you have all the facts don’t get this device.
