How Smart TVs, Voice Assistants, and Connected Cameras Are Eroding Your Privacy
The devices designed to make your life easier are also making it much less private. Your smart TV is tracking every show you watch. Your voice assistant is recording conversations you never intended to share. Your video doorbell is feeding data to companies you’ve never heard of. And in the worst cases, hackers are using these devices to spy on you in your own home.
This isn’t conspiracy theory or paranoid speculation—it’s documented fact. Companies have admitted it, lawsuits have proven it, and federal regulators have fined companies millions for privacy violations. Welcome to the era of domestic surveillance, where the most invasive monitoring tools aren’t installed by government agencies—they’re purchased by consumers and installed voluntarily in bedrooms, living rooms, and nurseries.
Smart TVs: The Living Room Spy You Paid For
Your television isn’t just showing you content anymore—it’s watching you watch it. Modern smart TVs come equipped with cameras, microphones, and sophisticated tracking technology that monitors everything you do, then sells that information to the highest bidder.
Automatic Content Recognition: The Invisible Tracker
The technology enabling this surveillance is called Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR. It’s a system built into virtually every smart TV manufactured in the past decade, and most owners have no idea it exists.
ACR analyzes what you watch to build a profile of your viewing habits for targeted advertising and content recommendations, tracking the channels you prefer, the commercials you watch, and how long you spend in front of the TV.
Here’s what makes ACR particularly insidious: it doesn’t just track what you’re watching through streaming apps. It monitors everything displayed on your screen—cable channels, DVDs, video games, even content from your laptop if it’s connected via HDMI. The system takes periodic screenshots of your display and matches them against databases to identify exactly what you’re viewing.
Samsung calls their tracking system “Viewing Information Services.” Vizio labels it “Viewing Data.” LG uses “Live Plus.” Sony employs “Samba Interactive TV.” The names differ, but the function is identical: comprehensive surveillance of your media consumption.
In 2015, Samsung’s privacy policy contained language so alarming it went viral: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.”
Read that again. Your personal conversations, captured by your TV’s built-in microphone, transmitted to third-party companies Samsung won’t even name. When pressed, Samsung claimed they weren’t responsible for how those third parties used your data.
Built-In Cameras: A Hacker’s Dream
Many smart TVs now include built-in cameras for video chatting and gesture control. If your smart TV has facial recognition or video chat features, chances are it has a camera, typically located in the bezel or border area of the screen.
These cameras create obvious security risks. The FBI warned that hackers could conceivably take control of smart devices and use them to spy on users, potentially accessing both video cameras and microphones without the owner’s knowledge.
It’s not theoretical. In 2019, hackers demonstrated they could remotely access Samsung smart TV cameras and use them for surveillance. The vulnerabilities were eventually patched, but new exploits emerge constantly. Your TV might be secure today, but what about next month? Next year?
Even if your TV has no camera, it’s still watching you. Samsung’s privacy policy mentions that the company is not responsible for how third parties use your data collected through ACR, meaning if the ACR provider’s database is breached, your viewing data could be exposed to unknown parties.
How to Protect Yourself
Fortunately, you can disable most smart TV surveillance features:
Disable ACR Technology:
- Samsung: Settings > Support > Terms & Policies > Viewing Information Services (turn off)
- LG: Settings > All Settings > General > Live Plus (turn off)
- Sony: Settings > System Preferences > Samba Interactive TV (disable)
- Vizio: System > Reset & Admin > Viewing Data (turn off)
Block Cameras and Microphones:
- Physically cover built-in cameras with electrical tape
- Disable voice recognition in privacy settings
- For retractable cameras (some Samsung/LG models), keep them retracted when not in use
- Consider unplugging external smart TV cameras entirely
Change Default Settings:
- Never use default passwords—change them immediately upon setup
- Disable automatic software updates if they reset your privacy preferences
- Review the privacy policy to understand what data is collected
The nuclear option? Don’t connect your smart TV to the internet at all. Use it as a “dumb” display and connect external streaming devices that offer better privacy controls.
Voice Assistants: Always Listening, Sometimes Recording
“Hey Alexa, are you spying on me?”
The honest answer is complicated. Amazon, Apple, and Google all insist their voice assistants only activate after hearing wake words like “Alexa,” “Hey Siri,” or “OK Google.” But the reality is messier—and more concerning.
The Accidental Activation Problem
For a voice assistant to respond to its wake word, it must be constantly listening. The companies claim this listening is “local” and not recorded until activation, but research shows these systems frequently misinterpret ordinary conversation as activation commands.
A Northeastern University study found over 1,000 word combinations that could falsely activate Alexa to start listening for commands, including common words like “unacceptable” and “election.”
Siri can be awakened by words rhyming with “Hey” or “Hi” followed by voiceless sounds and certain vowels, while Alexa responds to sentences starting with “I” followed by “K” or voiceless “S” sounds—phrases that frequently appear in normal conversations.
What happens during these false activations? Your device starts recording and transmitting audio to company servers. You might never know it happened.
Human Reviewers Listening to Your Recordings
In 2019, multiple whistleblowers revealed that Amazon, Apple, and Google all employed human contractors to listen to voice assistant recordings—ostensibly for quality control and improving speech recognition.
Reports surfaced of Amazon employees listening to and transcribing audio clips captured by Alexa devices, with human employees reviewing and transcribing portions of voice recordings rather than only AI algorithms processing them.
These contractors heard everything: private medical conversations, business discussions, intimate moments between couples, children’s voices. The recordings were supposed to be anonymized, but whistleblowers reported being able to identify users and sometimes locate them geographically based on context.
Apple faced similar revelations. According to investigations, Siri could easily start recording audio clips of conversations it wasn’t meant to hear, and some of these recordings became available to contractors in different parts of the world.
The Advertising Connection
Ever mentioned a product in conversation, then seen ads for it immediately afterward on your phone or computer? You’re not imagining things.
In a lawsuit against Apple, plaintiffs noted instances where advertisers like Air Jordan and Olive Garden would suddenly appear in their feeds soon after mentioning the companies’ names during private phone conversations.
While companies deny using voice data directly for advertising, the correlation is hard to ignore. Apple recently agreed to a $95 million settlement for privacy violations related to Siri, though they admitted no wrongdoing.
Your Data, Their Profit
Each company handles voice recordings differently:
Amazon Alexa: Records are tied to your account name and stored indefinitely by default. You can set auto-delete periods, but most users never change the default settings. Amazon admits using your voice data to improve Alexa and for other unspecified purposes.
Apple Siri: Uses a random identifier rather than your Apple ID, providing slightly better anonymity. However, recordings are still stored unless you opt out, and there’s no auto-delete feature.
Google Assistant: Recordings are turned off by default, but enabling the Google Assistant feature means consenting to data collection. Google offers auto-delete options for those who activate voice recording.
Legal Consequences Are Mounting
The privacy violations are catching up with these companies:
The Federal Trade Commission cited Amazon for breaking the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule due to Alexa recording and storing children’s voices and geophysical location information without parental approval, resulting in a $25 million civil penalty.
A federal judge recently approved a preliminary settlement that may lead to Apple paying $95 million to plaintiffs who alleged the company violated their privacy through Siri activating on their devices without their knowledge.
France is now conducting a criminal investigation into Apple’s Siri privacy practices, suggesting the legal battles are far from over.
Protecting Your Privacy with Voice Assistants
You don’t have to abandon voice assistants entirely, but you should take precautions:
- Use physical mute buttons when available (most Amazon Echo devices have them)
- Delete voice recordings regularly through your account settings
- Disable human review programs if given the option
- Opt out of personalized advertising in privacy settings
- Limit always-on listening by adjusting sensitivity or disabling the feature entirely
- Review and delete voice history periodically through manufacturer websites
- Consider local-processing alternatives like Apple HomePod, which processes most requests on-device
The most effective protection? Don’t place voice assistants in private spaces like bedrooms or bathrooms. Keep them in common areas where you control what they hear.
Video Doorbells and Security Cameras: Surveillance for Sale
Ring doorbells and similar devices promise security and convenience. But they’ve become vectors for harassment, hacking, and corporate surveillance that extends far beyond your front porch.
When Home Security Becomes Home Invasion
The Federal Trade Commission reported that Ring’s poor privacy and lax security let employees spy on customers through their cameras, including those in their bedrooms or bathrooms, and made customers’ videos, including videos of kids, vulnerable to online attackers.
The consequences were horrifying. Hackers exploited vulnerabilities to harass, insult, and proposition children and teens through their Ring cameras, with some hackers even live streaming customers’ videos.
Ring settled with the FTC for $5.8 million, but the damage to families was already done. Children heard strangers’ voices coming from devices in their bedrooms. Parents discovered their private moments had been streamed online. Home security systems became instruments of psychological warfare.
Real Victims, Real Horror Stories
A family in Mississippi heard a stranger’s voice talking to their eight-year-old daughter through her bedroom Ring camera. The hacker told the girl he was Santa Claus and encouraged her to destroy her room.
In Texas, a couple discovered a hacker was using their Ring camera to watch them and speak to them, even adjusting their smart thermostat to 90 degrees.
A Chicago family’s Google Nest cameras and thermostat were compromised, with hackers speaking to their seven-month-old baby through the monitor.
One victim reported that neighbors gained access through shared attic space, activated the microphone and camera on a Samsung smart TV, cloned her phone, hacked into WiFi and Bluetooth, and recorded conversations for over an hour while she was away.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of systemic security failures in an industry that prioritized features and profit over user safety.
The Data Sharing You Never Authorized
Even when cameras aren’t hacked, they’re sharing your data in ways you likely never imagined.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation uncovered in 2020 that Ring was sharing user data with five companies, yet only one of those five was listed in Ring’s privacy notice.
What data? Everything. When people come and go from your home. Who visits you. What delivery services you use. Patterns of life that can be combined with other data sources to build comprehensive profiles of you and your household.
Analytics and tracking companies can combine small bits of information together to form a unique picture of the user’s device, and if this information is misused or hacked, users have no way of even knowing or mitigating the damage.
Ring also has partnerships with over 2,000 law enforcement agencies, allowing police to request footage from your doorbell without your knowledge in some cases. While Ring claims to notify users, the company has shared footage with police during “emergencies” without warrants or user consent.
Consumer Awareness Is Shockingly Low
A survey found that only 13% of Americans know how smart doorbell companies use personal data, while 87% don’t know or are unsure, yet 93% of Americans say they wouldn’t buy a doorbell camera if it collected and sold data about their family.
The companies count on this ignorance. Their privacy policies are deliberately opaque, buried in legal jargon that few users read and even fewer understand.
Not All Doorbells Are Created Equal
Some video doorbells are worse than others. Consumer Reports testing found that Eken and Tuck-branded video doorbells had “terrible security” that exposes products to hackers and poses serious risks to consumers, with devices lacking required FCC registration codes.
These cheap doorbells, sold on Amazon, Walmart, Temu, and other major retailers, are essentially open doors for hackers. Yet they receive positive customer reviews and even “Amazon’s Choice” designations, misleading consumers about their actual safety.
Securing Your Video Cameras
If you choose to use smart doorbells or security cameras, take these steps:
Strong Authentication:
- Use unique, complex passwords (not reused from other accounts)
- Enable two-factor authentication on all devices
- Never use default passwords
Network Security:
- Create a separate guest network for IoT devices
- Use WPA3 encryption on your router (or WPA2 minimum)
- Update router firmware regularly
Camera-Specific Settings:
- Enable end-to-end encryption if available (Ring offers it on newer models)
- Disable third-party data sharing in app settings
- Opt out of law enforcement data sharing programs
- Cover or disable cameras when not needed
- Use physical privacy shutters on indoor cameras
Device Management:
- Update firmware automatically
- Review access logs regularly
- Limit the number of shared users
- Delete old footage you don’t need
Choose Reputable Brands:
Stick with major manufacturers like Ring, Nest, Logitech, or SimpliSafe that have established security track records and respond to vulnerabilities. Avoid cheap, unbranded devices from unknown manufacturers.
The Broader Internet of Things Nightmare
Voice assistants and video doorbells are just the beginning. The proliferation of internet-connected devices has created a surveillance infrastructure that extends into nearly every room of your home.
Smart Home Devices Are Hacker Magnets
Consumers who install smart home devices such as baby monitors, Ring doorbells or surveillance systems are increasingly falling prey to hackers due to misconfigured devices or lax smart home network security practices.
Baby monitors meant to protect children instead become tools for strangers to watch them. Smart refrigerators leak Wi-Fi passwords. Connected sex toys transmit usage data to manufacturers. Smart locks can be remotely opened by attackers who breach your network.
The FBI warns that hackers can take control of unsecured TVs to change channels, adjust the volume, show kids inappropriate videos, or turn on your bedroom TV’s camera and microphone to silently cyberstalk you.
Every connected device is a potential entry point into your network. Once inside, hackers can access everything—computers, phones, financial data, personal files. Your smart toaster could be the backdoor that compromises your entire digital life.
The Manufacturer Abandonment Problem
Many smart device manufacturers provide initial security support, then abandon products after launch. They move on to newer models, leaving older devices with unpatched vulnerabilities that hackers exploit for years.
That smart thermostat from 2018? It probably hasn’t received a security update in years. The firmware vulnerabilities discovered since then remain exploitable because the manufacturer stopped caring the moment they released the next generation.
Data Breaches Expose Millions
Even when you trust the manufacturer, you’re trusting their security practices—and their track record is dismal.
In 2024, Amazon confirmed that employee data was exposed in a leak linked to the MOVEit vulnerability. If Amazon can’t protect their own employee data, why should you trust them with your home security footage?
Ring, Nest, Wyze, and numerous other smart home companies have suffered data breaches that exposed customer information, including email addresses, passwords, and in some cases, video footage.
What Can You Do About It?
The smart home industry has prioritized convenience and profit over privacy and security. That won’t change until consumers demand it—with their wallets and their voices.
Immediate Actions
- Audit your devices: Make a list of every internet-connected device in your home. Research each one’s privacy practices and security record.
- Review privacy settings: Go through every device and app, disabling data sharing, telemetry, and unnecessary features.
- Secure your network: Change default router passwords, enable WPA3 encryption, create separate networks for IoT devices.
- Update everything: Enable automatic updates where possible, manually check for updates on devices that don’t auto-update.
- Cover cameras: Place physical covers over all cameras when not in use.
- Disable microphones: Turn off voice features you don’t regularly use.
Long-Term Strategy
Be selective: You don’t need to make everything “smart.” Traditional thermostats, doorbells, and light switches work fine and can’t be hacked or used to spy on you.
Choose privacy-focused brands: Some companies genuinely prioritize privacy. Research before buying. Read independent security reviews, not just customer ratings.
Read privacy policies: Yes, they’re tedious. But understanding what data is collected and how it’s used is crucial. If a company won’t clearly explain their data practices, don’t buy their products.
Demand accountability: Contact manufacturers when they fail. Leave negative reviews. Support legislation that holds companies responsible for privacy violations.
Vote with your wallet: Choose products that respect privacy, even if they cost more or have fewer features. The only language corporations speak fluently is money.
Create Safe Zones
Keep smart devices out of truly private spaces. Your bedroom and bathroom should be technology-free zones. Children’s rooms should never contain internet-connected cameras or voice assistants.
If you must use cameras in children’s rooms, choose ones with physical privacy shutters and turn them off when not actively monitoring.
The Future: Worse Before It Gets Better
The surveillance is only intensifying. Artificial intelligence is being integrated into home devices, enabling more sophisticated tracking and analysis. Companies are finding new ways to monetize your data. And regulations lag years behind the technology.
Your smart home is learning everything about you—your routines, your habits, your conversations, your viewing preferences, who you invite over, when you leave for work, when your kids are home alone. This data is being collected, stored, analyzed, and sold, often without your meaningful consent or knowledge.
The conveniences are real. Voice assistants can make your life easier. Smart thermostats can reduce energy bills. Video doorbells can improve security. But these benefits come at a cost: your privacy.
Every smart device is a bargain with the devil. You trade privacy for convenience, security for features, autonomy for automation. And once that data is collected, you can’t get it back. Once your private moments are recorded and transmitted, they exist forever in corporate databases, vulnerable to breaches, government requests, and uses you never anticipated.
Legislation Is Coming (But Too Late for Many)
Regulators are finally paying attention. The FTC has levied fines against Ring, Amazon, and others. The EU’s GDPR provides some protection for European consumers. Several U.S. states are considering privacy legislation.
But for millions who’ve already had their privacy violated, their cameras hacked, their conversations recorded without consent—the damage is done. Legal action is reactive, not preventive. It compensates victims after harm has occurred but does nothing to stop the next breach, the next exploitation, the next violation.
The Choice Is Yours
You can’t completely escape surveillance in 2025—it’s too embedded in modern life. But you can minimize it. You can make informed choices. You can push back against companies that treat your privacy as a commodity to be sold.
Every smart device you don’t buy is one less potential spy in your home. Every privacy setting you disable is one less data stream flowing to corporate servers. Every firmware update you install is one more barrier against hackers.
The smart home revolution promised to make our lives better. Instead, it’s made us all unwitting participants in the largest domestic surveillance program in history—one we paid for and installed ourselves.
The question isn’t whether your home is listening. It is. The question is whether you’re going to do anything about it.
For more information on protecting your privacy, visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org), Consumer Reports’ privacy and security section, and Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included buyer’s guide.
