TVs, Refrigerators, and Garbage Trucks – How Big Tech Spies On Us
We live in a society. A society accustomed to a lack of privacy, pushed on us by big tech and governments around the world. I came across Gamers Nexus’ video a few weeks ago, detailing how TVs are using cameras and microphones to watch and listen in to everything we do, even when they’re supposedly offline. It was shocking, even to someone like me who considers himself well-versed in privacy and all the ways big tech try to spy on us.
In that video, they prove that modern smart TVs use tiny microphones and cameras, hidden behind and under the screen, to send recordings back to their manufacturers. They even proved these TVs transmit data even if you disconnect them from your network. Every smart TV tested automatically opts users in to advertising and sharing data. Pocket Lint tested opting out of these agreements and found that it often took five steps or more, all of which were hidden in various menus.
The companies behind these TVs make other products, many with an array of microphones, cameras, and internet connections. If they’re using this technology to spy on people through TVs, why wouldn’t they do so with their other junk? I looked into other cases to see if anyone caught other devices spying on them, and in no time, I discovered that if you own anything that has an internet connection, it’s almost certainly spying on you.
What’s most scary is that these companies are essentially working together, often with governments around the world, to create a vast spy network that can track almost everything we do. This spy network is about as secure as a broken screen door, giving hackers a cornucopia of data. This isn’t a conspiracy, it’s very real. Okay, I appreciate that’s something a conspiracy theorist would say, so allow me to prove it.
Phones
From using GPS locating and Wi-Fi signals to track your location, to apps that gain access to your photos and camera, to stealing your health data and selling it to who-knows who, to app stores constantly playing host to malware and viruses, your phone exists to track everything you do.
Perhaps the most horrifying way phones can track you is by using your their microphones. This is an old conspiracy theory, as old as “cameras in your TVs,” but like that old belief, modern technology has made it possible. 404 Media (via Mashable) revealed that a marketing company called Cox Media Group are developing technology that can listen in on people through a phone’s mic, and then use that information to tell websites and apps what ads to show you. And its 2026, so of course it uses AI. 404 wasn’t able to verify that this technology exists yet, but Cox have been hyping it up as something they’re developing and pitching to advertising partners.
Phone makers are not innocent in any of this. In 2025, France fined Apple $162 million for violating the country’s privacy laws regarding the App Tracking Transparency framework. France says that Apple requiring users to agree to third-party apps through a pop-up window is in violation of the law. Likewise, Samsung was sued by the state of Texas in 2025 for unauthorized data collection and deceptive practices in regard to lack of transparency stemming from their Galaxy phones. Make no mistake, governments aren’t trying to fight for here. These same politicians have, for years, been trying to force Apple to install a backdoor in their phones that’ll allow the police organizations a way through encryption.
Computers
If you’re reading this blog, you likely already know the myriad ways that our computers can spy on us. Cookies, spyware, stalkerware, and most recently Microsoft’s Orwellian AI-powered Recall program. Microsoft got a lot of pushback for Recall, delaying it for months and eventually saying that it will be “optional.” In practical terms, that means they’re automatically opting you in and making it difficult to opt out. Can we be sure they’re not going to use it anyway, even if you do opt out?
Don’t worry, Mac users, you’re not being left out. Like Microsoft, Apple can also track everything you do, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Granted, Apple aren’t as bad as many other companies, but Wired found they still collect information such as what you search in the App Store, crash data, location information, and even where and how often you tap the screen (if you have a touchscreen).
Don’t think you’re safe because you use Linux. Though known for its rock-solid security for decades, cases involving viruses are going to increase as Linux becomes more popular. Still, Linux is by far the safest and most secure OS for computers. (Que the emails telling me that Linux isn’t an OS)
Watches
Smartwatches have this nifty feature that tracks how many steps you take per day. Unknown to many users, they also track where you take those steps. Watches use GPS data to determine where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re going. Some watches can connect to nearby Bluetooth and Wi-Fi routers on their own and report that way. All that in addition to the health data these watches collect and sell, like smartphone apps.
For a real world example of how this could be a problem: In 2018, the fitness tracking app Strava had a data breach that, thanks to the way it collects GPS data of its users, exposed the location of secret US military bases around the world. As you’d expect, security was tightened and everyone learned their lesson.
Yeah, I couldn’t keep a straight face, either. In August 2026, a report from Sky News reveled that Iran gained access to the very same Strava app, and used the data they gathered to target more hidden US military bases. Maybe the real takeaway from this is the vast number of secret military bases the US has.
Google is spying on you. That’s probably the least surprising thing you’ve ever heard. Their latest privacy policy states that they’re now going to scan your emails and use it to train its AI. Officially, they’re going to use that information to target you with personalized ads. Microsoft does the same thing with Outlook, and the rest of the 365 suite.
Refrigerators
Nobody loves refrigerators these days. They can’t simply be boxes that keep things cold or frozen anymore. Like everything else, they now also have to be smart devices. How else will they shove yet more ads down our throats? And how else will they collect more of our data? Modern smart refrigerators connect to the internet and often contain microphones and cameras.
I couldn’t find any documented cases of these fridges specifically spying on people, though there is a bill in the US Congress specifically targeting fridges and other smart home devices. Called the “Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act”, because every bill needs a stupidly long name, otherwise Trump won’t know what it is and won’t care, the bi-partisan bill would require makers of refrigerators and other smart home devices like vacuums, thermostats, and kitty litter to make it clear to buyers when devices have microphones and cameras.
Cars
It’s common practice for car companies to collect your driving data (where you’re going, where you live, where you typically drive, how fast you drive, how often you brake, etc.) and sell it to other corporations. General Motors were penalized by the FTC in January 2025 for doing this without telling their customers. In GM’s case, they sold the data to insurance providers which influenced what prices they charged individuals, and to financial companies that use it to determine whether to give potential customers credit.
Consumer Reports (linked above) launched an investigation and found that dozens of car brands did something similar, tracking how often you drive and when, whether you’re speeding, and even how hard you press the brakes, then selling that data to their own insurance companies which is then used to increase premiums.
Smart Home Devices
Setting up a microphone in your house that connects to corporations like Amazon and Google is asking for trouble. According to a report from Bloomberg (via Mashable), Amazon hires hundreds of employees to listen in on their Alexa smart home devices. These employees even have access to location data.
This news came one year after a husband and wife in Seattle reported that the husband’s employee called them, with news that their conversations were being recorded and sent to him. Amazon explained it away as the couple’s fault, saying that the device heard words that sounded like they were asking it to record the conversation and send it.
Meanwhile, in 2020, Google admitted that Google Nest devices record everything users say, even if they don’t use “wake words” like “okay Google.” Google insisted that it was a bug in a software update. They did not elaborate on how they'd make sure this "mistake" didn't happen again.
Smart Rings
Oura, the leading maker of smart rings, announced in August 2025 that they were partnering with the United States Department of Defense and data-harvesting powerhouse Plantir to support: “population-level analysis of risk and readiness.”
Security Cameras & Doorbells
Security cameras spy on people, but not in the way you might think. Companies that offer surveillance cameras for home use, bundled with a yearly subscription to store clips and link all those cameras together, hold on to that data. In 2024, the FTC fined Verkada for a data breach. Hackers broke into the security camera company’s systems and accessed over 150,000 cameras located in homes, psychiatric hospitals, abortion clinics, prisons, and schools. Hackers also got away with names, addresses, and audio recordings. The FTC found that Verkada had poor security, and also dinged them for making false claims made in their email marketing campaign.
There are also the usual suspects: Ring doorbells and Flock. As with Alexa, Amazon states that human employees review footage from Ring doorbells at any time. Amazon also work with various police departments across the US to provide them with footage from these doorbell cameras.
Flock are a particularly evil company. From using AI to specifically track individuals across cities, to their CEO calling privacy activists “terrorists”, these dystopian surveillance devices are like something about of 1984. City authorities are finally taking notice and voting to have the cameras removed, though Flock can’t take no for an answer, and have reinstalled their cameras in some of those cities anyway.
United States Postal Service
You soon won’t be able to get your mail without there being a camera in your face. USPS trucks are getting dashcams installed specifically to police neighborhoods, or as the USPS phrases it: to “monitor community safety.”
Under Trump, the USPS has become increasingly political and partisan. This is the latest move in turning the organization into another broken, corrupt institution. Trump gutted the plan to switch the fleet to electric vehicles, because that’d turn us into gay communists. He has also made it a cornerstone of his administration to end mail-in voting. He and current head of the USPS Louis DeJoy are pushing to privatize the department, with DeJoy vowing to cut tens of thousands of jobs, and working with Elon “Roman Salute” Musk to “improve efficiency.”
Garbage Trucks
Seeing the USPS get in on the action, garbage trucks were feeling left out. Luckily for them, the Dallas city counsel said “there, there, buddies” and voted to “test” AI-powered cameras in them. This will “help identify potential code violations,” according to the counsel. The cameras will scan “for issues such as overgrown lots, graffiti and illegal dumping.” The AI system detects these “issues” and sends them to a separate counsel that will review them and determines what, if anything, should be done.
Stores
Every major store in the United States is full of security cameras. Never willing to leave so much as a molecule of a penny on the ground, those stores are selling that data to anyone and everyone. Walmart has a massive surveillance machine using both their cameras and their checkout data to keep tabs on their customers, collecting their name, age, gender, and sexual orientation. They track your address, email, phone number, and your credit score and income. If that weren’t enough, they’re also implementing AI into their surveillance, using it to track your emotional state based on facial expression and body language.
Meanwhile, hardware stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot are using cameras and AI to identify “illegal immigrants” and snitch to ICE. This is the same Home Depot, by the way, that’s been using union-busting tactics since the 1970s, and whose co-founder has been sending money to Israel.
Sports Arenas
James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks and the Madison Square Garden Arena in which they play, has made the arena a hub for surveillance. He has his employees use cameras and AI to track gay celebrities that attend games, places them in a database. They are then randomly ranked how “dangerous” they are. Anyone deemed “dangerous” is added to a “DO NOT HOST” list.
Random Other People
I don’t know if this fits with this blog, but its worth pointing out. Modern society is addicted to taking photos and videos of every aspect of life and sharing them online. That means you’re eventually going to wind up in the background of a photo or video or two on the internet. There’s nothing you can do about that since there is no law in most countries about blurring out the faces of people in the background. Some countries look down on this.
You’ll often see the faces blurred out in Japanese videos and pictures, though that’s mostly a courtesy/cultural thing more than a formal law. (I know the headline of the article I linked to says its a law, ignore that and read the article itself.)
That is to say nothing of the rise of creep glasses. Those are already being used to discreetly film women in public.
What Can Be Done to Hinder This
There’s unfortunately little we can do about all this tracking. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. After Gamers Nexus released their video, I ripped the microphones and camera out of my TV. I went a step further and did the same with my tablet, laptop, and PS5 controller.
Not much I can do about my phone since, you know, it’s a phone. That I keep it in a drawer tucked in an old beanie when I’m not using it, which isn’t often, anyway. On it, I’ve installed F-Droid, and mostly use FOSS and privacy focused apps like Tuta, PipePipe, and Fossify Calendar. Though, surprise, surprise, Google are trying to shut that down as well. I’ll be swapping it out for a Fairphone, hopefully within the next year.
I’ve gone through my old accounts on a bunch of websites I don’t visit anymore and deleted them. Whether that helps, I don’t know. They probably don’t actually delete your data, but it at least lets me feel like I’m doing something. I don’t use social media other than occasionally Mastodon and Lemmy, and I don’t post photos of myself online. I also have my browser (Librewolf) set to delete all cookies, except for a handful of sites, whenever I close it down.
I also use a VPN, one of the ones that was once respected but has recently publicly shamed themselves. I know that doesn’t narrow it down, so you’ll have to guess which one. A VPN can only do so much to give you privacy (some would argue they don’t do anything on that front), but I like the peace of mind it gives me. Also in my online toolkit is Tuta Mail, a privacy-focused email provider. I also use gloves when typing so—what do you mean that’s an old joke and it isn’t funny?
Sadly, I had the bright idea to use my real name with this blog. I’ve used my real name on most of my online work for well over a decade now. I wish I went with a pen name, but it’s too late for that now.
I considered wearing a mask in public, but by sheer coincidence and for no specific reason whatsoever, states are resuscitating old anti-mask laws. That wouldn’t do anything to stop Flock and similar cameras from tracking your license plate, or even recognizing you based on your build, gait, clothes, etc. anyway. There are other ways of dealing with those.
I’m Not Insane, (Mother) Come Back to Me
I appreciate the fact that everything you’ve read here (or skimmed over, more likely) makes me sound like a lunatic. I want to assure you that no, I do not wear a tinfoil hat. I threw it away after it asked for my location data.
If you came into this blog not knowing what these companies and government institutions were doing, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking me crazy. Even after reading all this, there’s a chance you’re asking: “So what?” A lot of this data isn’t important, and with so many devices and companies collecting our data for so long, it’s not like there’s much we can do to stop it. I’m not dismissive or uncaring towards that attitude. I get it. I will advise you, however, to look at the bigger picture. Think about not only what could happen, but what has already happened, and is happening.
Many of these companies are working with the US government. They’re using the data collected by our phones, by cameras in stores and on streets, to round up anyone they deem “undesirable.” Look at the case of ICE rounding up people based on information provided by Home Depot, or the FBI arresting users of GrapheneOS. You might not fit into that category right now, but how long will that last? When Donald Trump weaseled his way back into power, his Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he would put together a list of people with autism. The CDC has been tracking people obtaining abortions since 1972. Are you comfortable with him and the Trump regime keeping these lists? Men who think people with autism are dangerous, and that miscarriages are a crime?
Ask yourself why people simply trying to use privacy-focused devices are being labeled as terrorists. Both the US and EU are pursuing the ability to collect our data. The United States is trying to make anyone out using the privacy-focused GrapheneOS on phones to be a terrorist. The EU is desperately trying to implement Chat Control, so they can identify everyone online with a government ID. Australia has banned minors from using social media, requiring the use of government IDs to create an account. To say nothing of countries like Russia, China, or Israel that ban certain devices and heavily restrict the internet. Why are these governments trying so hard to keep tabs on us online?
It doesn’t even have to be the government. Hackers from all over the world are finding it easier than ever to nab our data. Hackers accessed the voice history of Alexa devices in 2020. In 2023, the FTC released a statement saying that Ring employees failed to do anything about hackers accessing their customers cameras. In 2022, hackers gained access to Honda car key fobs, allowing them to unlock and steal cars whenever they wanted. Hop on your search engine of choice and type in “data breach” followed by any random company you can think of and you’re going to find something.
Even when your data isn’t used to arrest or extort you, we’ve seen that nothing good comes from this. “Smart pricing” is an increasingly common tactic, where your data is fed to an AI algorithm that determines how much each individual should pay for something. As we saw with car companies, they’re selling your data to insurance providers to determine whether you should be approved, and what your premiums will be.
There is everything to fear in allowing companies and governments to spy on everything we do, and to use that data however they like. You wouldn’t let a stranger come into your home and read all your emails, listen to all your conversations, check your underwear drawer, and sell that info to their friends. Why would you let Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump do it?
Thing of the Whenever
This seems like a great time to talk about a book. Thank Gilgamesh that physical books can never connect to the internet or contain microphones.
Last night, I started John Rackham’s Beanstalk, another DAW “masterpiece” from 1973. The book is (I hope you’re sitting down for this) a re-imagining of the ancient fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk, which sees Jack work alongside Salviar Federation scout Jasar-am-bax to destroy a space station manned by a giant working for the Hilax Combine.
This novel seems to be completely forgotten. I can’t find much about it online. Even its Storygraph listing only has four reviews, and the description is total nonsense. I found one review from Stranger Than SF, and that’s worth a read if the idea tickles your fancy.
Update: This blog took so long to complete that I’ve finished reading the book. It’s not great, especially the first half were we’re overloaded with exposition, as Jasar explains absolutely everything about space and technology to Jack while they lounge around Jack's house. It finally picks up about a third of the way through when they get off the planet and make it to the space station. The action is good, the characters get more interesting and varied, and there are some nice set pieces.
It’s not spectacular by any means, but it was a fun romp through a re-imagining of an old fairy tale classic. Worth a read for that alone. You know me though, I love hokey shit like this, so maybe I’ve got a higher tolerance than most. It’s got lines like: “What a straw-witted clod I am!” so how could I not love it?
I also discovered that “John Rackham” is the pen name of John T. Phillifent (1916-1976). He was a hugely influential science fiction writer whom Frederik Pohl credits with literally defining the genre. His other books include the Chappie Jones series and the Space Puppet series. I don’t know what that last one is, but I’m already in.
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