Smart‑TV 'Privacy'

Smart TV Data Harvesting

“You have zero privacy anyway." —Scott McNealy

There is no privacy on a "smart" TV. The modern television business model isn't about just selling you hardware, it's also based on telemetry, harvesting and selling your personal viewing habits and data. Whenever and whatever you watch, that info is being 'phoned home' to data brokers.

The Solution 

The only real mitigation is to never give the TV access to the Internet. Skip the Wi-Fi setup, leave the Ethernet port empty; instead, use an external streaming box that you control. 

If you want to stream content from a smartphone, tablet or computer, use Wi-Fi Direct instead of a local network:

• Apple: Use Peer-to-Peer AirPlay. Ensure both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are enabled on your iOS device or Mac, and you can mirror your screen directly to compatible TVs without a router. 
• Android: Use the built-in Cast or Screen Mirroring feature (sometimes labeled Smart View). This utilizes Wi-Fi Direct (Miracast) for direct wireless connection to the TV.
• Windows: Press Win + K to open the Cast menu. This uses Miracast to project your screen direct to the TV without needing a local Wi-Fi network.