A new report from expert academicians from the US, UK, and Spain shed light on the real world of smart TVs. They all include ACR or Automatic Content Recognition tech and it’s not something new.
Streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu used it for years and now, growing evidence suggests how tracking by third parties has reached at alarming levels. It’s quite like capturing whatever content is on the screen and matching it with content databases to see what’s on display at any moment in time.
Thanks to this latest research, we’re learning more about how third-party tracking inside smart TVs isn’t discussed as much as it should. This is because the test included leading tech brands in TV, LG, and Samsung. In the results, the authors concluded how ACR operates even in those states when there is a dumb display.
This kind of tracking is done directly through smart TV apps operating through the system. As per researchers, it captures scenes, develops fingerprints, and even shares them with ACR servers to match with databases of known material like movies, ads, and even live feeds.
When fingerprints match, ACR servers can determine which content is being seen on the screen. This enables the platforms to profile any watchers through the TV into specific audiences. So the company benefits in terms of tracking users for personalized ads.
We’ve already seen South Korean tech giant Samsung be called out in 2015 for the actions of collecting users’ personal data through voice recognition. As per the company, they take privacy very seriously and admitted to curating products with this theme in mind.
As per the study, smart TVs are all over the house. They can be inside bedrooms, lounge areas, or living rooms. Furthermore, they feature microphones and cameras that give access to habits and personal data. In terms of the ACR, fingerprints match with servers to identify the kind of content seen. So in this case, the viewing habits are out in the open.
What was interesting in this research is that ACR data wasn’t collected when using YouTube or Netflix. This might be related to copyright issues which make the process complex. For instance, Netflix likes to have ACR deactivated while streaming content for users. Other cases might have to do with the fact that they actually do care about users’ privacy.
In the study, the authors were able to conclude that configuring devices to opt-out can prevent traffic from any ACR domain. But that process is not very simple. It requires intricate navigation via different settings in several subsections and there’s no simple switch to toggle off either.
Image: DIW-Aigen
