LG TV shown scanning LAN for third-party phones and other devices
“It doesn’t cost a lot to store text forever.”..
“It doesn’t cost a lot to store text forever.”.
The short version
- LG TVs are facing scrutiny due to a video seemingly showing the devices’ capability to track users when the TVs are off.
- YouTube channel Gamers Nexus worked with Level1Techs, a technology-focused YouTube channel, and security researchers to analyze LG TVs’ tracking capabilities.
- They shared packet captures that pointed to the TVs, including LG’s pricey G5 OLED TV, scanning the LAN for other devices.
What happened
“The [G5] crawled our entire network and found dozens of unrelated devices, including smartwatches and phones of our staff who didn’t even know we were working on this,” Steve Burke, Gamers Nexus’ editor-in-chief, said. LG’s ad business, LG Ad Solutions, has said in recent marketing materials that it can reach 363 million “addressable secondary devices” in the US.
Why it matters
When reached for comment, a company representative shared a statement from LG Electronics via email: LG TVs can identify compatible devices on the same network to enable features such as device connectivity, content sharing or smart home functionality.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.