text: 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. ||||| In its hour-long Xbox One presentation, Microsoft blazed through announcements for its new next-generation console, including one ostensibly important feature that may raise some eyebrows: the new Xbox will always be listening to you, even when it's turned off. 
   
   The reason for always-on listening mode is simple; Microsoft wants the new Xbox to respond quickly and naturally to you, whenever you need it. To fulfill that goal, the company will ship the new Kinect — its motion-sensing and listening peripheral — with every Xbox One. The new console uses the new Kinect for just about everything: switching between games, movies, web browsing, and live television, all of which can be done with voice commands. (In fact, the new console needs the Kinect to operate at all — it's not an optional add-on like with the Xbox 360.) Even when the console's turned off, users can simply say "Xbox On" to power up — which means the new Kinect will be listening to you in your living room at all times. 
   
   I think it's creepy that you can say "Xbox on" and it will turn on. It means it's always listening to you. — Jack Lloyd (@RedDeadLloyd) May 21, 2013 
   
   Kinect on the Xbox One is always listening/watching and has a constant connection to the Internet. 1984 anyone? — James Philippon (@jamesphilippon) May 21, 2013 
   
   In fact, the new camera and microphone system is so sensitive to your presence, that Microsoft says the new Kinect can even read your heartbeat while you're exercising, and recognize and process audio that's personalized to specific individuals. "This is rocket science level stuff," Xbox's Marc Whitten said during today's reveal. 
   
   Microsoft claims the new Kinect is so sensitive that it can read your heartbeat and recognize individual voices 
   
   Of course, that's not necessarily a gloom-and-doom situation, and listening doesn't mean recording. Still, compared to privacy concerns over a device like Google Glass, which doesn't actively listen to its surroundings at all times, the new Xbox could pose greater privacy implications — especially if the system, which many users will connect to the internet, is compromised remotely by a malicious actor. "If I'm recording you, I have to stare at you — as a human being," Google Glass engineer Charles Mendis told The Verge when asked about Glass' privacy concerns. "And when someone is staring at you, you have to notice." But will you notice a fixed camera in your living room that's always listening? 
   
   This isn't the first time Kinect has faced privacy concerns 
   
   This isn't the first time Microsoft has dealt with privacy issues related to Kinect. When the first iteration of Kinect headed to the market in 2010, Microsoft's Dennis Durken suggested to investors that the peripheral might pass data to advertisers about how you look, play, and speak. "We can cater what content gets presented to you based on who you are," he said, sparking privacy concerns. (Microsoft later denied that the Kinect would use information for targeted advertising.) But even then, the first Kinect was only enabled in specific situations, and didn't have an always-on listening mode. 
   
   Microsoft provided few additional details on how the new Kinect will work, but the company did mention that the system will run in an extremely low-power state for listening mode, meaning that the device's operating system and certain hardware features could be disabled in that state. 
   
   We've asked Microsoft to clarify the technical specifics of how the system operates in listening mode, and if the company has considered any safeguards against potential privacy threats. 
   
   Update: A Microsoft spokesperson responded to our inquiry with the following statement. 
   
   The new Kinect is listening for a specific cue, like ‘Xbox on.’ We know our customers want and expect strong privacy protections to be built into our products, devices and services, and for companies to be responsible stewards of their data. Microsoft has more than ten years of experience making privacy a top priority. Kinect for Xbox 360 was designed and built with strong privacy protections in place and the new Kinect will continue this commitment. 
   
   Update 2: Microsoft CVP Phil Harrison told Eurogamer that the company has no plans to spy on you:
target: – 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.