What does my smart television collect about me?

The answer

Some models recognise content on the screen and send recognition data to the manufacturer. The feature can usually be disabled in privacy settings.

Some smart televisions include content recognition. It works out what is on the screen and sends recognition data to the manufacturer.

In a study of Samsung and LG models, recognition covered devices plugged into the television’s HDMI socket too. That does not establish that every television model behaves in the same way.

The information can be used for audience measurement and targeted advertising.

You can switch the feature off in the settings. What it is called varies from one manufacturer to the next, and it usually sits under advertising or privacy.