Your Roku TV Streaming Stick Might Be Spying On You - Here's How

As the saying goes, if something is free, you are the product. While Roku streaming sticks aren't exactly free, they're incredibly affordable for what they are. During sales, you can buy one for just a little more than the price of lunch at your local chain restaurant. They unlock a world of streaming content through essential Roku apps and provide an intuitive interface. While they can turn any old TV with an HDMI port into a smart one, many people choose to plug a Roku streaming stick into an already smart TV.

They prefer the interface and enjoy access to additional content, like Roku Channels. But this convenience and money-savings comes at a cost if you don't disable certain features. When you use a Roku streaming stick — even some affordable smart TV brands – your usage is being tracked.

This includes the way you interact with apps, what you might buy right from the TV ( in this case, a streaming stick), and what kind of content you watch or engage with. From there, the information, though anonymous, is sold to third-party companies for a variety of reasons, from marketing to research. But there's a way to disable this to ensure a safer, more private experience.

As you engage with content, the streaming stick learns about your habits and those of your family. It tracks how much you watch TV, when you watch, and the type of content you engage with. It can even discern demographics, interests — like if you're a crime nut — and recognize if you have young children. It will log what items you purchase, what streaming services you use most often, and even which commercials you skip or, conversely, watch.

Roku's own privacy policy indicates that it collects your search history and results, voice commands, channels you access, including at what times and for how long you watch, how you interact with content and ads, and even what settings and preferences you use. The data it collects is often sold by data brokers to third-party companies that use this information in many ways. Most notably, it's to conduct research and market to you, albeit as an anonymous consumer.

So, while Roku offers its best streaming stick devices for a steal, the information that's gathered about you is invaluable. On the hand, you might appreciate the personalization of ads. On the other hand, however, you might find this invasive.

Thankfully, there is a way you can disable this tracking to ensure a more private browsing and streaming experience. When it comes to streaming sticks from all brands, including Amazon Fire TV Sticks and Chromecast devices, you can regain control. With Roku devices, check the privacy settings of the device by:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. From here, select Advertising and Limit Ad Tracking.

To prevent the voice remote from recording your commands:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click on Microphone.
3. Then click Channel Microphone Access.
4. Finally, select Never Allow.

There's also something called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), which is how the streaming stick collects demographic data about you. Look under Smart TV Experience and turn this off. Consider also using a VPN to mask your IP address and thus your actual location. This doesn't make it impossible for a device like a streaming stick to track you, but it does make it more challenging.

Keep in mind that many companies, including other brands of streaming sticks and affordable smart TVs, collect such information on you. But by following these simple steps and running through your settings, you can minimize what they learn about you and how they use it.