Does Samsung invade privacy with Smart TV policy?

Wikimedia Commons

Would it still be smart to get an advanced TV set that functions through voice command? How do you feel about being told to choose the words you say in front of a TV set?

While the technology that is available and looks pretty impressive, you may want to rethink that thought and see if your privacy is not breached.

Apparently Samsung's Smart TV privacy policy has come under fire after a portion of it read that people should not divulge personal stuff in front of the TV set.

Such has been the subject of debate nowadays, raising concerns of digital spying on the part of Samsung and the third party voice recognition software.

How does one's privacy become vulnerable?

It all boils down to the voice recognition software. Apparently a third party, which sources say could be Nuance, is behind the ability of the smart TV's ability to use the said feature. It converts speech to text, meaning some voice commands are transmitted thus advising customers not to converse about personal information in front of the TV set.

When set to 'always listen' that voice recognition feature is apparently opens a gateway where your information could end up falling into the wrong hands.

While Samsung has taken the heat this time, there are other devices which also make use of the said feature. That list includes gaming devices such as the Microsoft Xbox Kinect or even Android smartphones.

Hence, while the voice recognition software does seem interesting to try out, consumers may want to think twice about using the advanced feature and avoid placing themselves in a compromising position.

The technology looks like it still has a lot of loopholes that need to be addressed and the best way is to perhaps either be cautious or turn it off for now.