Privacy

Yes. Most smart TVs use Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology to track what you watch — including content from external devices like cable boxes and game consoles. This data is sold to advertisers. To stop it: go to your TV settings and disable ACR, Samba Interactive TV, or "Viewing Data" sharing. Also disable the microphone and camera in settings when not in use.

Data brokers are companies that collect your personal information — home address, phone number, income estimates, relatives, browsing habits — and sell it to marketers, landlords, employers, and anyone who pays. To opt out: visit each broker individually (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Acxiom, LexisNexis) and submit removal requests. Paid services like DeleteMe automate this ongoing process.

A VPN hides your internet traffic from your ISP and masks your IP address from websites you visit. It does not make you anonymous — your VPN provider can still see your traffic, and websites track you via cookies, fingerprinting, and login sessions. Use a no-logs VPN as one layer of privacy, especially on public Wi-Fi. Pair it with a privacy browser like Firefox or Brave and a tracker blocker like uBlock Origin.

Apps use several methods beyond GPS to infer your location: Wi-Fi network names, Bluetooth beacons, cell tower triangulation, IP address geolocation, and ultrasonic tracking beacons. Some share data with third-party SDKs that aggregate location across many apps. To reduce this: revoke location permissions entirely rather than setting "while using," use a VPN, and audit which apps have background location access.

Privacy rights vary by state. California CCPA gives residents the right to know what data is collected, request deletion, and opt out of data sales. Virginia CDPA, Colorado CPA, and Texas TDPSA have similar provisions. Federally, COPPA protects children under 13, HIPAA covers medical records, and GLBA covers financial data. Check your state attorney general website for your specific rights.