Your TV might be spying on you: Samsung devices secretly listen in for dog and baby noises, hacker claims

Being spied on by your TV might sound like a paranoid delusion, but a hacker now claims that this is a very real scenario.An independent security researcher, known only as @Log4j, claims to have found evidence that Samsung devices are always listening to their owners.In a series of posts on X, @Log4j said that they had discovered a weakness in a 'relatively new' $3,000 (£2,247.20) TV that allowed them to access hidden security documents. These apparently show that the device was listening for sounds like a dog barking or a baby crying to sell adverts.The documents also suggest that Samsung is sharing this data with '400 plus' third-party partners.The anonymous hacker told the Daily Mail: 'I've never seen someone go to this level of effort of loading custom, per-country, convolutional neural networks to track in-app behaviour.'That's an extreme degree of dedication to gathering profiling data.' A hacker claims to have found evidence that Samsung devices are always listening to their owners for dog barks and babies crying to target advertisements (stock image) Samsung has made no secret of the fact that its devices gather data about their users for advertising purposes.This technology is called automatic content recognition, which records snippets of what is on screen or being played through the speaker to build up a profile of viewing and listening habits.This data is then used to track listening and viewing habits to build user profiles, and then used internally or sold to advertisers for targeted promotions.What @Log4j claims Samsung has not revealed is just how much these devices are really recording.The security researcher claims that Samsung TVs have an 'always-on hot mic functionality' that means they are constantly recording audio.If the TV does not have a built-in microphone, it will apparently search for connected microphones through sound bars or Bluetooth speakers to begin recording.The hacked data also showed that the TV is conducting something called 'ARP probe scanning' 20 minutes after turning on the TV and every hour after that.@Log4j explains: 'An ARP probe lists out all devices on your network, so from an advertiser's point of view this effectively paints a nice picture of what's mainstay in your home, when you might have guests over and what devices they use, etc.' An independent security researcher, known only as @Log4j, claims to have found evidence that Samsung devices are always listening to their owners Five tips to help prevent your smart devices from spying on you Do your research before you buy: Check what data a device collects before you purchase it. Ask yourself whether you're comfortable with the information it wants to access.Take control of your permissions: During set–up, use the privacy controls to limit what your device can access. If a permission seems unreasonable, don't agree to it.Secure your device: Set a strong, unique password and enable two–step verification where possible to protect against unauthorised access.Stay on top of updates: Install software updates regularly – security patches help protect your data from new threats.Wipe your data before you part with a device: If you're selling or disposing of a smart product, factory reset it first to remove your personal information.Source: Information Commissioner's Office However, they say what 'takes the cake' is the 'sheer aggressiveness and dedication to tracking what you do inside of apps provided by third parties'.They were also concerned to find that users' attempts to opt out of data sharing were being 'blatantly ignored'.'Despite having opted out of all data sharing with their partners, I still observed it contacting Google ad syndication networks, Amazon always had outgoing telemetry on my TV, and Samsung kept receiving detailed information as well about every action on my TV,' they said.This is not the first time that smart TVs have been found to record alarming quantities of data on their users.Earlier this year, an investigation conducted by YouTube channels Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs found that LG TVs were listening in on conversations, covertly recording them and uploading the data to the web.Any LG set capable of connecting to the internet can capture audio in the room it’s in using built-in microphones and webcams, even when it is in standby mode or has the screen switched off.And even disconnecting the TV from the internet doesn't stop it from recording audio, with any files gathered being sent back to the company's servers the moment it reconnects.These revelations have sparked serious privacy concerns for many users, with some even claiming to have thrown out their smart TVs as a result. This comes after investigators alleged that LG TVs were also listening in on conversations, covertly recording them and uploading the data to the web Which? has previously warned that smart TVs and other internet-connected devices, including speakers and air fryers, are often full of tracking software However, the hacker @Log4j has revealed to the Daily Mail their plans to 'liberate your Samsung TVs'.Working alongside other security researchers, they have developed a 'generalised one-shot defeat' that will 'automatically deploy the full exploit chain onto your device to liberate it from its nasty telemetry habits'.They add: 'It's going to be called Ironframe and will automatically identify every piece of problematic hardware you have in your home, and patch it simply by following an initial instruction. Effectively turning your TV into something you own again.'While the hacker isn't concerned about legal action from Samsung since the code doesn't contain any intellectual property, installing this software would almost certainly void any warranty you may have.Samsung has been contacted for comment.