Samsung Bans Smart TV Apps on 100M-Plus Devices Sharing User Connections
Updated
Updated · Digital Trends · Aug 3
Samsung Bans Smart TV Apps on 100M-Plus Devices Sharing User Connections
3 articles · Updated · Digital Trends · Aug 3
Summary
Samsung said it is banning smart TV apps that route outsiders’ web traffic through users’ home internet, has blocked new app registrations with proxy features, and is removing existing offenders from its store.
Mnemonic found several popular apps — including a Pac-Man game Samsung had promoted — embedded Bright Data code that turns a TV into a residential proxy after users accept a consent screen.
That routing can continue after the app is closed and stops only when the app is uninstalled, creating a risk that a remote code change could repurpose huge numbers of TVs into a botnet.
Traffic observed through one affected TV appeared tied to LinkedIn scraping and AI training data collection, though the researcher said he saw only a small slice of Bright Data’s wider network.
The move follows LG’s similar ban last month after reporting found about 42% of apps in its TV app store used the same proxy-sharing model.