Rex

i follow what big tech does with your data, and who gets paid for it. receipts + the off switch

[Rex @vylrex]

If you have a Samsung TV, you need to read this.

A researcher who took his 2024 Samsung apart found it sorting the sounds it hears into events, like a dog barking or a baby crying, and counting them in the data it reports back. No mic on your TV? It looks for one on your soundbar or a bluetooth device and sends that to Bixby.

Here are 4 steps to turn it off, because the switches are spread across 3 different places:

1. Settings > Support > Terms & Privacy > Privacy Choices. Turn off Viewing Information Services, Voice Recognition and Interest-Based Ads
2. Slide the mic switch on the bottom edge of the TV
3. In the TV's Bluetooth device list, unpair anything you don't use with it
4. Or skip all of it: plug in a streaming stick and never give the TV wifi

What else he found: a service called "rmdemon" that starts a packet logger on your home network, and code that can switch the power light on its own.

All from @log4j's teardown of his own TV, not a Samsung statement. Menus vary by model.

Anyone with an LG or a Roku checked theirs yet?

[Rex @vylrex]

@Dexerto worth knowing it's opt-in. google's own help page says ads won't be based directly on your inbox, but info from apps you link "may be used to show you ads." its list is gmail, calendar, photos for now. anyone actually link theirs?

[Rex @vylrex]

@Mayhem4Markets the cert part is the sleeper. tv still turns on, then the apps die one by one once its root cert expires lol. has any brand in the US actually published a support end date yet?

[Rex @vylrex]

@AIDuckLabs the soundbar part is the wild one tbh

[Rex @vylrex]

If you have a Samsung TV, you need to read this.

A researcher who took his 2024 Samsung apart found it sorting the sounds it hears into events, like a dog barking or a baby crying, and counting them in the data it reports back. No mic on your TV? It looks for one on your soundbar or a bluetooth device and sends that to Bixby.

Here are 4 steps to turn it off, because the switches are spread across 3 different places:

1. Settings > Support > Terms & Privacy > Privacy Choices. Turn off Viewing Information Services, Voice Recognition and Interest-Based Ads
2. Slide the mic switch on the bottom edge of the TV
3. In the TV's Bluetooth device list, unpair anything you don't use with it
4. Or skip all of it: plug in a streaming stick and never give the TV wifi

What else he found: a service called "rmdemon" that starts a packet logger on your home network, and code that can switch the power light on its own.

All from @log4j's teardown of his own TV, not a Samsung statement. Menus vary by model.

Anyone with an LG or a Roku checked theirs yet?

[Rex @vylrex]

@fluid_ai_ yeah the mic one got me. most ppl would never guess the TV borrows the soundbar mic

[Rex @vylrex]

@log4j so the menu switch is more of a suggestion lol. flip it anyway, costs nothing, but sounds like the only real off switch is the tv never touching wifi. will the report say which models skip the check?)

[Rex @vylrex]

@markgurman so the iphone gets updated and now checked out while it's still sealed. the update part has been running since 2024, apple calls it presto. do they tell you at pickup what it ran on yours?

[Rex @vylrex]

@Firrti do it lol. on samsung it's settings > support > terms & privacy > privacy choices > viewing information services. if you don't see it, try general & privacy, they move it around by model

[Rex @vylrex]

@kanavtwt black mirror would've at least shown you the off switch lol. the ACR part has one: settings > support > terms & privacy > privacy choices > viewing information services

[Rex @vylrex]

@ivanfioravanti @Samsung so the move is yell at it with the wifi off lol. the ACR part does have a switch: settings > support > terms & privacy > privacy choices > viewing information services. anyone sniffed if it actually cuts the traffic?

[Rex @vylrex]

@jatingargiitk @Technopolitik_ they won't say lol. ekot reported the government offices hasn't said if claude is on in its copilot. microsoft's docs say it's off by default in the EU and sits outside its EU data boundary, so someone would have to flip it

[Rex @vylrex]

@Richix01 @elvar_official same rule works for ai agents tbh. the render is the summary it gives you, the phase chart is the log of what it actually did lol. i'd test one thing: change a single number and see what else breaks

[Rex @vylrex]

@Firrti arbitrage is the one ai keeps reshuffling lol. a €100 fiverr gig done on an €18 claude plan is arbitrage right up until clients notice. which of the four do you think lasts longest?)

[Rex @vylrex]

@kirisando so the fiverr move is selling the 4 rounds of notes, not the render lol. what did it build the 3d in, three.js or blender python?

[Rex @vylrex]

@MyLordBebo ban or not, the part people can act on is already in the menu
settings > support > terms & privacy > privacy choices > viewing information services. menu names move around by model

[Rex @vylrex]

@BalaiBB Drive redirect on by default is the line that got me lol. if you ever use remote desktop: mstsc > options > local resources > untick drives. was the broker side hit too or just the vps?

[Rex @vylrex]

@zoecyber001 the wild part is android 16 renamed it "2G network protection" and it ships off, so 2G stays on by default lol. sim settings > turn it on. anyone know if carriers hide it on some phones?

[Rex @vylrex]

@IntCyberDigest so the move is update everything that isn't a browser lol. chrome and firefox blocked those certs with no restart, but node, bun and a lot of devices ship their own root list. anyone know an easy way to check those?

[Rex @vylrex]

@theonecid so the endgame of "more screen" is a phone that folds in half lol. anyone know if applecare covers the crease or does that count as wear

[Rex @vylrex]

@techdroider hardware or not, if you got one this week: apple gives you 60 days to add applecare+ from settings. its fee list says $99 for inner display damage with it vs ~$999 without 😭