The new privacy policy for Samsung’s smart TVs allows the company and its partners to listen in on everything their users say. 
 
 The policy has drawn the ire of internet users, who compared it with George Orwell’s dystopian fiction 1984. 
 
 While voice recognition software almost always transmits data on what users are saying — so that the job of decoding it can be done by quicker computers elsewhere — the combination of sending the data to third-parties and the comparison with Orwell has meant that the Samsung policy has drawn particular attention. 
 
 The policy states: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.” 
 
 It makes clear that the tool can be turned off through settings, though that will stop the voice recognition working entirely and Samsung will still continue to collect data about how people use the TV. 
 
 “While Samsung will not collect your spoken word, Samsung may still collect associated texts and other usage data so that we can evaluate the performance of the feature and improve it,” the policy states. 
 
 It bears similarities to the telescreens used in 1984, as pointed out by Twitter user and Electronic Frontier Foundation activist Parker Higgins. 
 
 In that book, Orwell writes: “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by [the screen], moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. 
 
 “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork.” 
 
 A Samsung statement said that data is encrypted to keep it safe, and that owners can disconnect the TV from wifi if they want to keep their data safe. Users can tell when the feature is activated because a microphone appears on screen. 
 
 Many saw the policy as a warning about the internet of things — the new trend towards internet-enabled devices in the home — which some say could allow companies to collect more data on its users than ever before. ||||| Samsung’s SmartTV service offers a set of features that provide enhanced video content, customised TV, movie, and other content recommendations, connections to social networking services, and the ability to control and interact with your SmartTV with gestures and voice commands. We collect, use, share, and store information through your SmartTV in the ways described in the Samsung Privacy Policy. This Supplement provides additional details about the privacy practices of some SmartTV features. 
 
 Recommendations and Customised Content 
 
 Device Information 
 
 The SmartTV is designed to enable you to easily find and access video programming and other content. For example, you may access information about live television programs distributed to you by your cable or satellite operator and on-demand video content offerings distributed by third-party content providers through searchable guides displayed on your SmartTV. 
 
 
 
 In the case of live television programs, we determine what content is available to you based in part on your post code. In addition, the SmartTV helps make the searchable guides and other SmartTV content more relevant to you by highlighting programming and content that is likely to interest you, such as episodes of programs that you may have missed and new programs, applications and other content that we believe you will find of interest. We base these recommendations on: 
 
 Information about content that you have watched, purchased, downloaded, or streamed through Samsung applications on your SmartTV or other devices; 
 
 Information about applications you have accessed through the SmartTV panels; 
 
 Information about your clicks on the “Like,” “Dislike,” “Watch Now,” and other buttons on your SmartTV; 
 
 The query terms you enter into SmartTV search features, including when you search for particular video content; and 
 
 Other SmartTV usage and device information, including, but not limited to, IP address, information stored in cookies and similar technologies, information that identifies your hardware or software configuration, browser information, and the page(s) you request. 
 
 In addition, if you enable the collection of information about video streams viewed on your SmartTV, we may collect that information and additional information about the network, channels, and programs that you view through the SmartTV. We will use such information to improve the recommendations that we deliver to you on the SmartTV. 
 
 
 
 Please visit the “settings” menu of your SmartTV for choices that may be available to you if you do not wish to continue to receive personalised recommendations on your SmartTV. If you disable personalised recommendations, then the information and content displayed on your SmartTV may not be as relevant to you. Samsung may still collect information about your usage of the SmartTV for the purposes described in this Samsung Privacy Policy. 
 
 Voice Recognition 
 
 You can control your Smart TV, and use many of its features, with voice commands. 
 
 
 
 If you enable Voice Recognition, you can interact with your Smart TV using your voice. To provide you the Voice Recognition feature, some interactive voice commands may be transmitted (along with information about your device, including device identifiers) to a third-party service provider (currently, Nuance Communications, Inc.) that converts your interactive voice commands to text and to the extent necessary to provide the Voice Recognition features to you. In addition, Samsung may collect and your device may capture voice commands and associated texts so that we can provide you with Voice Recognition features and evaluate and improve the features. Samsung will collect your interactive voice commands only when you make a specific search request to the Smart TV by clicking the activation button either on the remote control or on your screen and speaking into the microphone on the remote control. 
 
 
 
 If you do not enable Voice Recognition, you will not be able to use interactive voice recognition features, although you may be able to control your TV using certain predefined voice commands. 
 
 
 
 You may disable Voice Recognition data collection at any time by visiting the “settings” menu. However, this may prevent you from using some of the Voice Recognition features. 
 
 Gesture Controls and Facial Recognition 
 
 Your SmartTV is equipped with a camera that enables certain advanced features, including the ability to control and interact with your TV with gestures and to use facial recognition technology to authenticate your Samsung Account on your TV. The camera can be covered and disabled at any time, but be aware that these advanced services will not be available if the camera is disabled. 
 
 Gesture Control. 
 
 To provide you with the ability to control your SmartTV through gestures, the camera mounted on the top of your SmartTV can recognise your movements. This enables you, for example, to move between panels and zoom in or zoom out. We record information about when and how users use gesture controls so that we can evaluate the performance of these controls and improve them. 
 
 Facial Recognition. 
 
 The camera situated on the SmartTV also enables you to authenticate your Samsung Account or to log into certain services using facial recognition technology. You can use facial recognition instead of, or as a supplementary security measure in addition to, manually inputting your password. Once you complete the steps required to set up facial recognition, an image of your face is stored locally on your TV; it is not transmitted to Samsung. If you cancel your Samsung Account or no longer desire to use facial recognition, please visit the applicable settings menu to delete the stored image. While your image will be stored locally, Samsung may take note of the fact that you have set up the feature and collect information about when and how the feature is used so that we can evaluate the performance of this feature and improve it. 
 
 Fitness Services 
 
 To provide you with personalised fitness recommendations, SmartTV services enable you to create a profile that contains certain basic information about yourself, including your height, weight and date of birth. You can delete such a profile at any time by following the directions in the service’s preferences [or settings] screen. 
 
 Kids Services 
 
 SmartTV services may make available educational videos and other content appropriate for children, but we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13) without parental consent, unless permitted by law. If we learn that a child under the age of thirteen (13) has provided us with personal information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law. 
 
 Third Parties 
 
 Please note that when you watch a video or access applications or content provided by a third-party, that provider may collect or receive information about your SmartTV (e.g., its IP address and device identifiers), the requested transaction (e.g., your request to buy or rent the video), and your use of the application or service. Samsung is not responsible for these providers’ privacy or security practices. You should exercise caution and review the privacy statements applicable to the third-party websites and services you use. ||||| A data dump from WikiLeaks says the CIA can spy on you through your internet-connected Samsung television, which means government spies could know a lot more about you than whether you love Girls. 
 
 Earlier today, WikiLeaks released a trove of documents describing what it calls secret spying and hacking tools developed by the CIA and British intelligence. They include a Fake Off mode inserted into Samsung televisions. If activated, it makes the television appear to be off but keeps the power running so spies can capture audio and possibly video of anything in the room. Samsung has not yet responded to our request for comment. 
 
 It must be noted that the hack, codenamed Weeping Angel (a Doctor Who reference, by the way) applies only to Samsung televisions from 2012 and 2013 that feature outdated firmware versions 1111, 1112, and 1116. The exploit almost certainly impacts relatively few people, and there may be an easy way to tell if you've been hacked—Fake Off mode, as outlined in the 2014 document, leaves a blue LED on the back of the set illuminated. 
 
 Now, the CIA probably created this hack to target specific individuals, and it appears the hack can be loaded onto a television only via a USB firmware update that was recently disabled. So unless you're a known operative, it's unlikely the government compromised your TV. But we're sure you're still curious, so here's how to tell if it's happening: 
 
 The Telltale LED 
 
 In Fake Off mode, the screen appears off and the LEDs on the front of the set change color and dim, as you'd expect if you'd turned off your TV. Yet the TV remains powered and capable of recording conversations. Want to know if Big Brother is listening in? Look at the back of your set. The blue LED back there should be off. It remains illuminated in Fake Off mode, according to the documents WikiLeaks released. 
 
 Which TVs? 
 
 If you've got a Samsung from 2012 or 2013, check to see if you've got one of these models: From 2012: UNES8000F, E8000GF plasma, and UNES7550F. From 2013: UNF8000 series, F8500 plasma, UNF7500 series, and UNF7000 series. To determine your firmware version and to update it, go to the main menu, select Support, then select Software Update. 
 
 It is possible the CIA has updated Fake Off mode to address the telltale LED, and it's possible Samsung changed the LED on subsequent models. But the company acknowledged in 2015 that hackers could compromise the voice-control feature in some sets, and it took steps at the time to patch the problem. 
 
 Be Seeing You 
 
 The companies making internet-connected smart televisions have drawn criticism for collecting and sharing user data. If you want effective protection from unscrupulous companies, shifty hackers, and government spies, simply disconnect your TV from the internet. But if you remain worried, there's only one sure-fire method for preventing that: unplug the TV.
– Own a Samsung smart TV? Then take note: Your television is not only listening, it's sending your data to a third party, the Independent reports. The TV's voice-recognition software lets you give it orders, but the product's privacy policy warns that "personal or other sensitive information ... will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition." Samsung tells the BBC that the third party is Nuance, the company that does Samsung's speech-to-text conversion. But intellectual property lawyer Corynne McSherry says it would be nice to see that clarified in Samsung's policy, the Daily Beast reports. "And I’d definitely like to know whether my words were being transmitted in a secure form," she says. An activist tweets that Samsung's policy sounds a lot like the description of "telescreens" in George Orwell's dystopian novel, 1984—which reads in part, "Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by [the screen]." Unnervingly, it wasn't clear how often "the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork." Samsung, however, says it doesn't keep voice data, and customers can opt to turn off voice-recognition or even unplug the TV from Wi-Fi. And Samsung isn't alone: the Verge reports that XBoxes already use voice recognition while being connected to the Internet. "Samsung's privacy policy is not unique; its rhetoric just happens to be similar to that of a well-known sci-fi novel," the Verge says.