[bhaney]

> You can achieve the same effect by not connecting the television to wifi or Ethernet

You can hope that you're achieving the same effect, unless the manufacturer has shipped the device with software that will scan for open wireless networks and send its collected data out once it finds a network that allows it Internet access. The TV I got was an Amazon Fire TV, so for all I know the thing is going to some day silently connect to some kind of mesh network built out of the Ring doorbells my neighbors have. Physically removing the networking hardware gives me much better peace of mind, and prevents some well-meaning future house sitter from briefly plugging in an ethernet cable and allowing the device to upload years of collected data or something.

> Sadly that means you’re also buying the device to plug it into

I don't see what's sad about that. I'd much rather have that functionality be provided by a separate device that I can replace or upgrade without trashing the whole TV. I see other people with smart TVs that are a few years old and half their "apps" no longer work because the technologies used by the services backing them have changed and the TV doesn't support them.

[bradgessler]

Its sad for two reasons:

1. Those without the means and who are uninformed have less privacy and 2. It’s a waste of resources to not use the computer built into the TV and have to by another one for the sake of privacy.

[lyjia]

I don't think the second point has any weight when people are shipping miniature computers in literally everything these days. Personally, I don't want these devices using all of their power.

The first point is indeed tragic. But I think some of the blame has to fall on the consumer for failing to keep abreast of changes, and for not forcing manufacturers to change their ways.

We're super quick to cancel companies for social justice stuff, but not for spying on us?

[w-ll]

No! It's a waste of resources to include stuff that's quickly outdated and only used to sell our info and serve ads.

I dont go as far is desoldering ports, but day 1 everything I can disable is, and they get a device I control in HDMI 1.