A picture of Yahoo's Privacy Notice on a Samsung smart TV. (siliconaddict/Ars Technica)
Posted on 02/11/2015 2:56:19 PM PST by Swordmaker
Samsung's smart TVs have already come under fire this week for a poorly worded privacy policy that apparently let the devices listen in on owners' conversations. Now, there are reports that the sets are inserting ads "every 20-30 minutes" into users' own, locally stored content. There's been a string of complaints online by customers using third-party video apps such as Plex and Australian service Foxtel, with most referring to rogue Pepsi ads interrupting their viewing. "After about 15 minutes of watching live TV, the screen goes blank, and then a 16:9 sized Pepsi ad (taking up about half the screen) pops up," wrote a professed Samsung smart TV owner on Foxtel's support forums. "It's as if there is a popup ad on the TV."
COMPLAINTS ABOUT UNEXPECTED ADS FIRST APPEARED LAST MONTH
Samsung addressed similar complaints in January after tech writer David Chartier posted a picture of a pop-up ad for a "Yahoo Broadcast Interactivity" app appearing on his smart TV. Samsung explained that these sorts of ads were supposed to be opt-in only and was working with Yahoo to improve the system.
"We are working with Yahoo to create an opt-in screen prompt specific to their service as soon as possible," Samsung told Business Insider, adding that to disable them users should "press Menu on your Samsung Remote and scroll to Smart Hub > Terms & Policy > Yahoo Privacy Policy. Scroll to 'I disagree with the Yahoo Privacy Notice' and you can toggle the option on to opt-out." The option itself is not only buried so deeply in the TV's menus that most users wouldn't find it without prompting, but the language itself seems deliberately confusing; an example of the sort of user interface "dark patterns" that companies use to trick us.
However, despite these earlier complaints it seems the same Yahoo scheme might also be to blame for the new intrusions, with Reddit users advising one another to uncheck the web company's privacy notice to disable the ads. At the time of writing, Samsung hadn't responded to our request for comment, but the company's Australian division told CNET that ads seen by the country's users were the "result of an error that occurred as part of a recent software update that was not intended for the Australian market" and that the problem was now "rectified." Note that Samsung isn't saying that the ads weren't planned — but merely that they weren't planned for the Australian market.
The internet has given consumers more control than ever before over what TV they watch and when, and adding this connectivity to the biggest screen in the house certainly makes sense on paper. However, companies like Samsung and LG have proven time and time again that smart TVs aren't about giving more control to consumers — they're about taking it away; with obtrusive privacy policies, clunky software, and adverts, adverts, adverts. So much for the future: perhaps it's time to bring back the dumb TV.
Way to squander a well earned premium position, Samsung!
Amazing user agreement. . . check the box and HEADS Samsung/Yahoo wins you lose, Don’t check the box and TAILS Samsung/Yahoo Wins you lose. WOW! They CAN have it both ways!
Youtube now puts banner ads OVER peoples’ video content and does not share the revenue with the video owner.
And this isn’t just one ad after the beginning of the video. Nope they appear near the bottom of the youtube video window several times during the content.
but everyone knows that images don’t influence or affect anyone, so it doesn’t matter.
Oh, heck no!
If this goes viral they will soon have to certify their Smart TVs as being Intrusion Free.
This has to be a hoax sponsored by LG or Sony. Right? If this is true - Stupid move. Stupid.
There is absolutely no need to spend hundreds extra for a “smart” TV, get a basic screen without the smart features then plug in devices such as a roku to give you the features you want.
do you think Samsung is the only one doing that?
Good question.
We have a dumb tv with a Roku box. I don’t have the faintest idea how to work it ... can’t even turn on a cartoon for the baby.
and ROKU could easily do similar things if the company ends out an update probably
well, you are using a computer right now, so I assume you could figure out ROKU
Well, I suppose I am glad to have purchased a really good Samsung Smart TV 1.5 years ago and no such intrusive advertising so far.
Whats to say they wont load that into a "firmware update" - that's outrageous they cant do that, can they??
I just bought Insignia 20 in tv with build in DVD player for $149.00 from Best Buy. It has VGA port so I can use it as a monitor for my PC and with it’s 2 HDMI ports I can connect my Mac Mini and XBOX.
Most important of all, my new TV/Monitor does not spy on me...
I could figure it out if it was important to me, but it isn’t. I have books.
i have internet, me and the TV don’t speak much
Samsung’s last generation of plasma TVs (no longer made) have the best pictures since the Pioneer Plasmas, but their “Samart TV” functions are crap. As far as I can make out, they’re nothing but a jumble of unmodified Android apps, one per channel, none of which remotely function like any of the others.
Roku is FAR better way to go for streaming than the Samsung “Smart TV” crap. And then I made the mistake of opening a Samsung account, and suddenly the damn TV starting popping up all kinds of unwanted internet messages.
Solution? Disable WiFi and unplug the ethernet cable. Roku works quite fine, thank you very much. And now I have what I really wanted all along, a fantastic, but dumb 60” plasma TV monitor.
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