Beware of 'Free' Smart TVs with Privacy and Ad Concerns

Telly, a new startup, is giving away free smart televisions with a catch: the 55-inch smart television is fitted with a second display that sits underneath and displays ads while you watch your favorite shows. The startup collects data about what you view, where you’re located, what you watch, as well as what could be inferred about you from that information. Annotations left in its privacy policy that were published in error raise concerns about its data practices. The television also collects names, email addresses, phone numbers, ages and dates of birth, zip codes, gender and ethnicity, and “sex life or sexual orientation”.