Your Samsung TV Could Allegedly Use Other Bluetooth Devices To Listen To You - Here's How
It should come as no surprise that just about every piece of consumer tech we own is capable of sharing information about us with third parties. The biggest of big brands are all about mining user data, and most of these tech titans offer transparency on how and why they're monitoring your device activity. Smart TV companies like Samsung require you to sign off on terms and conditions before you can start streaming Netflix. Unfortunately, we humans have a tendency to mindlessly scroll to the bottom of these pages to check the "cool, sign me up" checkbox, so you may have missed Samsung's "third-party device"-tracking disclaimer.
According to an anonymous security analyst on X (@log4j), Samsung TVs with built-in microphones actively listen for sounds in your viewing environment; your smart TV then sends those findings to Bixby — Samsung's smart assistant — as telemetry data. This is also disclosed by the manufacturer in its SmartThings Privacy Notice, which can be found in the SmartThings app on Samsung's 2025 Vision AI TVs. But you have to go a layer deeper to learn that if your Samsung TV doesn't have a built-in mic, it might lean on your soundbar, Bluetooth speaker, or wireless headphones to capture telemetry data.
You can also find this disclosure in the SmartThings Privacy Notice, which states that "through the Service [SmartThings]," Samsung has the ability to collect "audio and visual content if you connect video or audio recording devices to the Service." Our translation: Samsung may be able to use your external devices to record certain types of user activity.
If a device connects to the internet, it's probably sharing your user data in some way, shape, or form
User data has been a smart TV headline of late, as it was just a few weeks ago that LG attracted similar scrutiny for its data-tracking practices within its webOS platform. It's one thing for a smart TV manufacturer to keep tabs on what streaming apps you use, what you like watching, what ads you tend to skip, etc., but privacy becomes a bigger concern when your TV begins lurking on your home's every dog bark, infant whine, and heated debate about this or that. Moreover, beyond opting out of personalized ads, TV makers don't provide a way to completely say no to device monitoring.
While additional mitigation is possible, the methodology mostly boils down to keeping your smart TV offline. Telemetry data and other recorded information can only make it back to Samsung's servers when your TV is connected to the internet, and you can 100% sever your network handshake at any time. Of course, that also means you won't be able to use any smart TV features. That's one reason to invest in a dedicated streaming device, but keep in mind that these devices and services are subject to their own privacy policies and data-tracking fine print.
It's easy to direct the spotlight at mega-brands like Samsung and LG, but just about any gadget that requires Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet has the potential to be in on your usage habits. This usually isn't for malicious purposes; it's simply the nature of the beast in this age of all things smart and AI-enhanced.