I take security seriously and my streaming devices are no different

You need to think about what’s going on around you, even when you’re at home. You may not want to consider the fact that people could be paying attention to you while you’re sitting on your couch. But the truth is, it’s a pretty popular place for spies to check up on you. I’m not saying there are people scoping out your house and peering through your window. Far from it, actually.

There are people that can hack into your TVs or streaming devices and keep tabs on what you’re doing and where you are. Not only that, but many devices are built these days to keep track of your activity and use it to pitch your products you might like, based on your experience and history. But there’s a fine line between marketing and using algorithms to snag more sales and people straight up spying on you.

While you’ve probably contemplated getting security cameras or a smart lock for your front door, it’s important to consider security on all your devices. One of those specifically is your streaming device or smart TV. It could be spying on you, but there are some things you can do to prevent it. One of them is picking the right device.

Your smart TV isn’t actually the most vulnerable device in your home entertainment setup

Your router may need a security checkup

Your streaming device isn’t the easiest thing to hack. It isn’t the most secure device in your home, but it’s not going to be the entry point into your home’s security system. That’s because the streaming device has to be hooked into a TV or connected to the Wi-Fi in order to work. Hackers need an entry point into your streaming device, so it makes sense to try the place where all your devices are hooked up to. It’s why you need to have a secure router, preferably with a firewall.

Many routers come with a firewall setting, but it needs to be enabled. You can do that by logging into your router’s confirmation page and turning the firewall on. This sets up a barrier that is more difficult to breach. Adding another layer of security to your streaming device would be to use it with a VPN. This would hide your IP address and allow your TV to connect to a safer and more secure network. Plus, you’ll open yourself up to the possibility of watching TV shows that aren’t available in your local area.

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Think about the features of your TV and security devices

You probably don’t need a camera

Samsung

Not all smart TVs have them, but plenty do. If yours has a camera built into it, you should be aware of the risks that come with that. Having a camera built into your TV means you could potentially be opening yourself up to a hacker spying on the room the TV is in. Placing a little piece of tape over it isn’t going to solve this either.

Another huge component to this your smart TV or streaming device’s voice remote. The voice remote can easily be hacked, as it has microphones that are used to send voice commands to the TV. The TV is learning from your conversations, as it is taking in everything that is said. You can disable voice commands in the settings of your TV or streaming device to protect yourself against this.Limit what your streaming device is tracking

Find out what is being tracked by your devices

Some of them give you a choice

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All streaming devices and smart TVs are made to track what you’re watching. Not only are the devices doing so, but the individual platforms, like Netflix and Hulu, monitor what you’re watching in order to make suggestions for your content. I’ve used Roku mainly in my homes and know that, depending on what I’m watching on certain platforms, there might be ads for other shows on those platforms on the Roku home screen. Not all streaming devices are like this though.

Apple TV 4K is the streaming device that tracks its users the least. If you don’t want to give up too much privacy and still want to stream a lot, it’s the smartest investment for users. They don’t use automatic content recognition (ACR), which is a primary feature for many streaming devices to keep tabs on what you’re watching. You can also disable Siri, stop sending analytics to Apple, and kill location tracking. You actually have to enable your Apple TV 4K to send voice data to Apple, which is usually something that is toggled on most streaming devices. It also lets you control what devices have Bluetooth access. The security measures in place at Apple trump those of Roku, Amazon, and more.