Your TV now watching you too! LG Smart TV caught collecting owners' Habits and USB file names
Nov 20, 2013
Now your TV is also watching you, and is smart enough to spy on you. A UK blogger, developer and Linux enthusiast, known only as DoctorBeet has discovered that LG's smart TVs are sending personal information back to the company's servers about what channels you watch and viewing habits. Actually, LG conducts the data collection for its Smart Ad function, which advertisers can use to see when it is best to target their products at the most suitable audience. LG Smart Ad analyses users favorite programs, online behavior, search keywords and other information to offer relevant ads to target audiences. For example, LG Smart Ad can feature sharp suits to men, or alluring cosmetics and fragrances for women. After inspecting the outgoing traffic from his smart TV, DoctorBeet noticed that a unique device ID, along with the TV channel name was being transmitted each time he changed channels. His investigation also indicated that the TVs uploaded information about t...