Samsung has denied reports that its Smart TV is listening in on users' private conversations in the living room. In a blog post titled simply as "Samsung Smart TVs Do Not Monitor Living Room Conversations," Samsung denied the allegations and announced that its confusing privacy policy has been clarified.
On Feb. 11, Wednesday, Samsung assured its customers that it takes their privacy "very seriously" and that its products are designed with users' privacy in mind. The South Korean tech giant stated it uses data encryption and other industry-standard security safeguards and practices to ensure users' personal information are secure and prevent any unauthorized collection or use.
Put it another way, Samsung is essentially telling everyone to calm down, The Verge explained. But the company does acknowledge its privacy policy could have benefited from using clearer language.
The revised privacy policy now states that Samsung Smart TV only listens in very specific circumstances. For instance, the device listens to a user for basic commands like "change the channel" or "increase the volume," but Samsung says that these data are not stored or transmitted.
Another instance when its voice functionality could come into play is when users search for a certain movie, actor or other content. According to Samsung, its voice recognition technology works in the same way as most others do.
That is, Samsung claims its Smart TV only listens to users when the voice recognition feature is activated. The company further clarifies the device does not endlessly record a conversation taking place in the living room.
Samsung's privacy policy originally stated that if users, who had activated the Smart TV's voice recognition function, talk about personal or other sensitive information, these could be among the data collected and transmitted to a third party. This particular statement has led to confusion and criticisms, with some comparing the issue to George Orwell's "1984."