Smart TVs monitor what you see and share with advertisers

Millions of smart TVs connected to the Internet can track what users / viewers are viewing and using this information to make personalized recommendations on other programs that each household might be interested in seeing.

This information is very valuable to marketing companies and can also be used to send targeted advertisements to other internet-connected devices from the same house.

The company behind the software, Samba TV, states that its system is installed on 14.4 million smart TVs around the world.

But that's not all, the software has the ability to connect with other Wi-Fi enabled devices that share the same wireless network, bringing the total number of devices accessed by Samba TV reaches about 72 million.

This may even allow the company to track what these devices do once they leave the house.

The New York Times conducted an investigation into these devices. Samba TV practices. The San Francisco-based company raised $ 40 million in venture capital funds from its investors.

It also has agreements with about 12 TV manufacturers, including Sony, Sharp and Philips, to include their software in certain models

When buyers of these sets install them for the first time, they are encouraged to activate the Samba Interactive TV service of the company.

The software promises to make personalized content-based recommendations that viewers see in its smart screen, including local, cable, and satellite channels and video-on-demand providers such as Amazon Prime and Netflix. Samba TV also offers special offers, according to the habits of the viewers.

According to the New York Times, more than 90 percent of users access this service, but many do not realize the reach of the information collected by these TVs.

Research indicates that the software monitors almost everything that appears on the screen. It is even said that the device can find out if people are seeing conservative or liberal media in order to steer their products.

As mentioned above, one of the biggest attractions for advertisers is the ability to Samba TV to identify other devices in the home that share the same Internet connection as the TV.

This information can also be used to try to influence consumers with ads targeting a certain brand of smartphones, tablets or smart devices You can even explore the advertisers' website to see if people are visiting them after having viewed one of their commercials.

Customers who install Samba TV agree to their terms of use and privacy policy, but may only do so online or on another television screen. The privacy policy has more than 4000 words and the terms of service have more than 6500 words

In this way, advertisers have permission to follow what people see and therefore offer them advertisements according to their tastes, something that Although it seems an invasion of privacy, it is completely legal after accepting the terms of service.