Samsung TVs Kept Tracking What People Watched Even After Users Turned Tracking Off, Study Finds

Samsung smart TVs continued sending internet traffic linked to viewing-tracking technology after users turned the feature off in tested scenarios, according to a study by researchers at Northeastern University.

The study, titled Watching the Watchers: Privacy Analysis of US Smart TV Automatic Content Recognition, examined 12 televisions from 10 manufacturers through 5,943 controlled experiments. Researchers investigated how smart TVs communicate with external services and whether those communications change when users opt out of tracking.

The researchers found that Samsung TVs running the Tizen operating system continued communicating with systems linked to automatic content recognition (ACR) after users disabled tracking in several viewing scenarios.

ACR is a technology that can identify what appears on a television screen by analysing information from video or audio. Manufacturers can use it to understand viewing habits and support services such as personalised recommendations and targeted advertising.

The study detected traffic linked to ACR in all 30 tests involving Samsung's built-in streaming service after users opted out. Researchers also recorded similar traffic in 41 of 60 tests using an antenna and 18 of 30 tests involving devices connected through an HDMI port.

These findings suggest that turning off tracking did not consistently stop internet communications associated with ACR on the Samsung televisions tested. However, the researchers could not confirm exactly what information the encrypted traffic contained or whether any viewing data was stored or used for advertising.

Other TV Brands Also Show Tracking-Linked Activity

Samsung was not the only manufacturer whose televisions continued communicating with systems linked to ACR after users opted out.

The researchers also detected continued traffic on televisions running Vizio OS and Roku OS, although the results varied depending on the platform and viewing scenario.

Other platforms, including LG's webOS, Sony televisions running Google TV, VIDAA OS and Fire TV OS, showed more effective opt-out behaviour in the scenarios tested.

The results do not mean that every television made by these manufacturers behaves in the same way. The experiments covered specific devices, operating systems and settings, so the findings should not automatically be applied to every model.

Encryption Leaves Questions About Data Collection

Although the researchers detected traffic associated with ACR, encryption prevented them from examining exactly what information was being sent.

This means the study did not conclusively prove that Samsung continued collecting identifiable viewing information or using it for advertising after users turned tracking off.

Detecting internet traffic linked to a tracking system does not necessarily establish what data was transmitted, whether it was retained or how it was used. Further evidence would be needed to answer those questions.

The findings nevertheless raise questions about whether the tracking controls available on smart TVs fully stop the network activity associated with viewing data collection.

Samsung Provides Settings to Manage Privacy

Samsung's support documentation explains that automatic content recognition can collect viewing-related information when enabled. The company provides settings that allow users to manage their privacy preferences.

However, the documentation does not establish whether the network activity detected in the study involved collecting or retaining viewing data after users opted out. It also does not constitute a direct response from Samsung to the researchers' findings.

The study highlights the difficulty consumers may face when trying to understand what happens to their viewing information after changing privacy settings. While a television may indicate that tracking has been turned off, researchers say network activity must also be examined to determine whether communications linked to that tracking continue.