Anyone know how @panasonic televisions compare in terms of privacy? I read they use a Firefox OS variant (means nothing, of course, but at least it’s not Google Android TV).
(The picture on the Panasonic OLEDs are rather amazing also.)https://twitter.com/aral/status/988156340853006336 …
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Having owned a few of them, you don’t have to use Android TV at all. In fact apart from a few edge cases, it’s basically a glorified HDMI hub (with a great picture).
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So you don’t need to sign in to a Google account for basic operation?
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Correct, at least when I first set it up two Android TV versions ago. You can also sign out of the Google account and continue to use the TV. Alternatively disconnect it from WiFi if you don’t want to use the “Smart TV” features.
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Cool. I’ll go fiddle with it in the store then and see if this model’s the same. Thanks :)
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Spyware *that you know of*. Which is unfortunately not the whole picture these days :(
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Indeed. The sewer runs deep and is multi-layered.
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Aral, I’m thinking of getting a new TV soon so if you manage to find one that isn’t a surveillance nightmare I’d appreciate you letting us know the model!!!!

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Will do. At this point, I’d settle for anything that doesn’t force an Internet connection + account sign in for basic operation.
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Thanks Aral. Good luck in your search. One very frustrating thing when looking at reviews of IoT tech is that these security aspects are rarely, if ever, considered in the evaluation.
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Can't you just put the tv on it's own VLAN?
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I’m not sure I want to go to any extra trouble after spending that sort of money. (Or support surveillance capitalists to begin with.)
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I understand your argument, my good sir. It is the same with mobile devices, operating systems, and so forth. You can't really trust anyone, can you?
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Disable the network on it after updating, and use a third party streaming device of choice.
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Can you get even to that pout without signing into a Google account?
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I am not sure, but what are you concerned about leaking to Google in the time frame before you disable the network?
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Thx! Truly. Not sure you realize what a difference you make in our lives. V much appreciate all you do to get to the bottom of issues impacting our privacy and technology!
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Good luck on that endeavor. Every 4K TV nowadays comes with the so called “smart tv” which one could also call “surveillance tv”.
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Could you not just disable the nonsense in there? I have a Samsung tv which was designed to record everything I said and upload that. I removed that sensor and capability, leaving me with a regular tv. It’s effort we shouldn’t need to do, but it’s hard to avoid, it seems.
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Actually *any* connected tv is a problem with buggy unupdated software. This is a hazard waiting to be hacked to gain acces to your home (and live). Not to mentionned hbbtv holes.
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Oh an wait till the next dickhead believe your tv should be connected to the blockchain for drm purpose. Actually i am pretty sure someone somewhere must be scaming an ico on this.
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