Samsung TVs without mics may listen through soundbars, researcher says

A reverse engineer claims that their Samsung smart TV has been collecting audio without their consent. The researcher, who calls themselves “log4j,” said in an X thread that their 2025 Samsung TV was delivering ads that seemed suspiciously relevant to them. Investigating, they claim to have found a package called “always on voice,” which uses the TV’s built-in microphone to collect sounds from the room. The software logged events such as dogs barking and babies crying, log4j said, adding that these events are counted and reported back to Samsung. Samsung advertises similar features on some of its AI-enabled TVs. The company says its Pet Care and Family Care features use on-device AI to detect a dog barking or a baby crying and alert users. This doesn’t confirm log4j’s claims about the package or the data it reports. However, log4j says that on TVs without microphones, the software searches for connected devices such as soundbars or Bluetooth microphones and uses those to listen instead. The TV was also collecting geolocation data and mapping local networks, they said, adding that it ran a service on the TV that analyzes traffic on the local network. log4j also says that the system uses a neural network tailored to a particular region to analyze your viewing habits. A neural network is a type of machine-learning model. log4j said : “…in youtube it’s looking for videos you watch, ads you skip, progress in a video, etc.” The tracking that’s on the record While log4j’s claims haven’t been independently verified, Samsung has used automatic content recognition (ACR), a system that identifies what’s on screen. Earlier this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton settled with Samsung, getting the company to agree that it would get Texans’ express consent before collecting or processing ACR viewing data. A class action complaint filed in New York in January also accused Samsung of using ACR to record video and audio passing through the TV. The complaint accused Samsung of using machine-learning algorithms to analyze and link this data back to consumers. This includes information displayed when the TV is used as a computer monitor, it said, adding that the information can be linked to different people using the TV. The case was voluntarily dismissed in July. The New York complaint added: “Samsung exploits this Sensitive Information by (a) selling targeted advertisements to its corporate advertising clients, and (b) providing it to third-party advertising companies such as Google and X (f/k/a Twitter) for targeted advertising.” A separate class action complaint filed in California this month accuses Samsung Electronics America of not being transparent about its ACR data collection. This isn’t the first time that Samsung has been criticized for allegedly picking up in-room audio. In 2015, privacy group EPIC filed a complaint with the FTC, accusing Samsung of recording conversations and relaying them elsewhere. The nonprofit said at the time: “Everything a user says in front of the Samsung SmartTV is recorded and transmitted over the internet to a third party regardless of whether it is related to the provision of the service.” EPIC identified text-to-speech company Nuance as the third party. What you can do We can’t confirm all of log4j’s allegations, and Samsung doesn’t appear to have commented. But there have been multiple complaints about the data smart TVs collect. You can turn off features such as ACR, internet-based advertising, and voice recognition where possible. log4j has also raised concerns about whether monitoring services are truly off. They said : “ACR off via your preferences menu on samsung TVs should not be assumed to actually disable ACR telemetry. i’ve found several instances where the checks (whether deliberate or not) are either incorrectly implemented or not checked at all.” log4j says disconnecting your TV from Wi-Fi is the best option for immediate peace of mind, though that also means losing internet-based TV features. They also suggest using an Apple TV or a modifiable Android TV box with open-source software. What do cybercriminals know about you? Use Malwarebytes’ free Digital Footprint scan to see whether your personal information has been exposed online. About the author Danny Bradbury has been a journalist specialising in technology since 1989 and a freelance writer since 1994. He covers a broad variety of technology issues for audiences ranging from consumers through to software developers and CIOs. He also ghostwrites articles for many C-suite business executives in the technology sector. He hails from the UK but now lives in Western Canada.