Comment by pengaru
19 hours ago
I don't have firsthand knowledge of TVs doing this, but other consumer devices with WiFi most definitely do this. If you don't control the software driving the TV, and the TV has WiFi hardware, I would assume it's at the very least in the cards.
It's rationalized by the vendors as a service to the customer. The mobile app needs to be able to configure the device via the cloud, so increasing the ability for said device to reach cloud by whatever means necessary is a customer benefit.
I've never seen evidence of a mainstream consumer device doing this either. Got some examples I can look at?
Is Amazon Sidewalk still a thing?
It most certainly is. It's not wifi, but it's definitely a thing. It lives down in the 900MHz world where things tend to be slower, but also travel further.
And of course: If it exists, it can be used.
That said, I haven't seen any evidence that suggests that televisions and streaming boxes are using it.
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If you're in SF we should have that conversation over a beer.
If you are paranoid about this, most TV wifi hardware is simple enough to physically disconnect.