Data and user privacy at risk; smart TVs track user profiles for targeted ads

Consumers are gratefully embracing the internet of things in all its glory. They are now the proud owners of dozens of smart devices such as TVs, fitness bracelets, watches, surveillance systems, pet feeders, baby monitors and cars, but many don’t know that these devices bring perks for third parties as well. In this case, third parties are not only hackers, but also insurance companies that get user data easily collected by smart devices in real time and stored on servers.

Smart devices are turning into a major threat to online data and user privacy, but few consumers understand the importance of security in this area. According to the New York Times, millions of US consumers are monitored through their smart TVs and the data is used to analyze their profiles, figure out how many smart devices are in their homes, then target them with advertising campaigns.

Samba Interactive TV is a company that builds user profiles based on data analysis to recommend TV shows “by cleverly recognizing onscreen content.” They created a piece of software that is embedded in popular smart TV sets made by Sony, Sharp, TCL, Philips and others to gather user data, often without clear consent. Most often, users enable the service without understanding the terms and conditions, lured in by the idea that all content received is personalized. Obviously, the data is then sent to marketers.

The software tracks all information the TV picks up about shows watched, ads and video games played online, as well as the political affiliation of the shows watched, so marketers could target users with direct ads.

Regulators and privacy supporters have drawn attention to this on multiple occasions, urging manufacturers to be more transparent in their practices. The company hasn’t released statistics, but has claimed in the past that over 90 percent of users enable the service.