Chinese TV manufacturer admits to spying on its customers

A Chinese television brand, Skyworth, has admitted that a third-party app on its smart TV range has been collecting users’ data.

In an official statement, Skyworth said that they had a collaboration with Beijing-based Gozen Data whose app was approved for collecting TV program ratings in China, however, the app collected unapproved data including device names, IP addresses, network latency, and Wi-Fi ranges.

The statement however did not mention whether the TV sold by the company outside of China also had the same spyware installed.

Skyworth sells its TVs in India under the brand name Metz after acquiring the German television maker.

This is not the first time a Chinese television manufacturer has been accused of spying on its customers.

Last year, famous Chinese TV brand TCL was reported to have fixed a loophole in its Android TV platform after researchers found that the loophole could be used to access a user’s TV set without entering the username and password.