A researcher found that their Samsung smart TV was tracking them through several functionalities, including an "always on" microphone—and cybersecurity experts warn that similar tools could exist on other "everyday devices."

X user log4j claims to have reverse engineered his Samsung smart TV's firmware and discovered what he calls a "privacy horror." Among the files he surfaced was one called 'security-policy.xml', which listed functions including an always-on microphone, automatic content recognition—a feature that identifies what a TV is displaying or playing—geo-positioning, network mapping, a targeted ads service, and user profile building. The firmware further indicated that Samsung TVs without a built-in microphone will look for one on connected devices such as a soundbar or Bluetooth speaker.

A community note—context added to a post by other X users—attached to the post points out that Samsung openly advertises some of these features. Its Pet Care and Family Care tools on Vision AI TVs listen for sounds such as barking or crying and alert owners through the SmartThings app.

log4j described the discovery in a post on X:

i own a relatively new (2025) samsung tv. i kept getting weirdly targeted ads. i tried reversing the firmware but it was aes encrypted and no keys unless tear it apart and do uart/jtag magic. zero days it is. root shell on new samsung TVs! discovered PRIVACY HORROR. write up? pic.twitter.com/EsxxCy1b6a

— log4j (@log4j) October 21, 2026

In the post, he claimed to have gained a root shell—unrestricted control of a device's operating system—through what he described as previously unknown flaws, and floated the idea of a follow-up technical write-up.

James Bore, a cybersecurity and technology consultant, told Decrypt that the discovery is not a new finding but rather adds awareness to something most people were not aware of.

"The amount of monitoring that smart devices, from TVs to voice assistants to cars, do isn't secret as such, just not something promoted," Bore said. "If you read privacy policies and [End-User License Agreements], it's all in there in almost every case, but most people don't read those."

Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor at cybersecurity firm ESET, told Decrypt that this could be the start of a wave of similar findings, as a trend of AI-powered reverse engineering has swept the internet.

"AI-assisted reverse engineering may make it easier and faster for researchers to uncover and explain how devices collect, process, and share data," Bore agreed, "but the underlying collection itself is generally not new or unknown."

Decrypt has reached out to Samsung for comment and will update this article should the company respond.

Bore added that smart TVs monitor user behavior to advertise more effectively and to persuade viewers to spend money. He noted that this practice is "far from unique" to smart TVs.

Moore suggested this might explain why televisions have not seen a noticeable price increase in recent years.

"TVs haven't really increased in price like some products over the last two decades and that may be because customer data collection is keeping those costs down," Moore said. "Smart TVs are doing far more behind the scenes than most people realise, as many can monitor what we are watching and collect our data to build profiles for targeted advertising."

Last week, smart TV owners began using AI coding agents like Claude Code to strip ads and tracking software out of their sets, as Decrypt reported. One open-source project, CleanYourTV, now lists tested setups for 107 TV models from 37 brands, though it only fully works on Android-based TVs—not Samsung's Tizen operating system. However, as one Decrypt writer discovered, vibe-coded solutions can end up backfiring.

Both cybersecurity experts said the public should not be uniquely concerned about the functionalities revealed on Samsung TVs. Bore argued that people should be more worried about how "blasé" they have become about accepting companies "constantly profiling us to manipulate us into spending more money on things we don't need."

"The concern is how much of our data is being collected and who it's being shared with," Moore said. "It is possible to go through TV settings to minimise the amount of data access points are being used and analysed, but saying, privacy shouldn't be something you have to hunt through dozens of settings to find."

Some people who are more anxious about security say this form of invasive data collection is enough to change their behavior. Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Stacks, a prominent Bitcoin layer-2 network, said he avoids handling private crypto keys in rooms with such devices.

"We were paranoid that a hacked device could record or listen in," he tweeted. "Didn't realize the TVs were literally 1st party programmed for full-on spying. Only the paranoid survive."