Some things TVs already track would have sounded extreme before 2011, when ACR started taking off. For example, using ACR, TVs can reveal to OS providers—and therefore advertisers—the shows watched on the set and whether that content was streamed or watched via an antenna or cable. ACR can even identify DVDs watched on a TV. Per Ad Exchanger: “ACR ingests pixels on-screen to assign a value to each frame," which is like an "unknown fingerprint." The OS sends these fingerprints “to a database that logs content available on TV to find a known match and identify the content. Once ACR identifies the show, it can tie that viewing data to a specific household, such as a given household watching The Big Bang Theory at 9 pm." Advertisers can combine this information with other tactics, like advertisement identification, which assigns a unique ID to ads, to further track TV usage.
But there are plenty who don’t know the extent to which their TVs are monitoring them. Complexity in understanding and controlling TV tracking is especially relevant as more sets incorporate microphones and cameras. Terms of service are often complex, wordy agreements buried in elusive TV settings or online, and companies have ways of strong-arming TV owners into accepting such agreements. Further complicating matters, it's possible for consumers to disable tracking from the TV OS provider, such as Google, but still be tracked by the TV OEM, like TCL.
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