Samsung: smart televisions do not listen in on conversations

Samsung has stated that it does not use its smart TVs to eavesdrop on conversations. The company has provided text and explanation about televisions that have speech recognition after concerns arose about privacy terms.

To clear up the confusion about the alleged eavesdropping, Samsung has adjusted its privacy conditions. The Korean manufacturer explained the changes on its blog. In a previous version of the terms and conditions, Samsung warned its users against disclosing personal information: it can be forwarded to third parties. That passage led to the fear among users that conversations are being tapped.

The new version of the privacy conditions makes it clear what Samsung actually means, the company says. For example, speech is recorded as soon as the user makes a search query with his voice. The recorded speech is then forwarded to Nuance, which analyzes the recording and converts it into a command. As long as the user does not enter a search query, no information is collected.

Samsung emphasizes that users who have not turned on voice control are not ‘eavesdropped’ either. In addition, no speech is recorded if the user only gives commands for operating the TV: for the voice search function, the data must first be sent to a server, but this is not necessary when operating the TV, according to Samsung.

It is not the first time that questions have arisen about Samsung’s privacy conditions for smart televisions. The company also had to defend itself in 2012, after criticism arose about how personal data collected with smart televisions is stored.