Roku 2024 privacy policy, can Roku see what is being watched?

[theaudcouple 2]

Hello,

I got an email about Roku's new privacy policy.  Reading it states Roku collects when and how long you use a channel and information about the videos...

https://docs.roku.com/published/userprivacypolicy/en/us

3. Activity, Location, and Usage Information on Roku Services

We receive information about your interactions with the Roku Services, such as your browsing history, search history, search results, audio information when you use voice-enabled features, interactions with content and ads, and settings and preferences. When you access streaming services on a Roku device or Roku’s Channels on other devices, we may collect information about your activities, like the channels you install or access (including usage statistics such as what channels you access, the time you access them, and how long you spend viewing them), and information about the videos and other content you select and stream within these streaming services. If you use the Roku Media Player to view your video or photo files or listen to your music files, Roku will collect data about the files viewed within the Roku Media Player, such as codecs, and other metadata of the local files you play through the Roku Media Player.  

 

So, it seems Roku collects that I am using the Emby app on my Roku TVs, when I use them and how long.  While using the Emby app on the Roku tvs, does Roku know/have the ability to identify and or collect what I am watching? 

You may point out that if I have been using Emby on Roku so far, this privacy policy may or may not change a lot, but what I am after is how private is my data on a self hosted application connecting via local ip address while using a Roku device (TV, stick, other device).  Can Roku identify, in any way, what is being watched?

I found this post from 2018

Which states

Quote

 

Luke
System Architect
Administrators
Posted July 25, 2018
In fact I'm happy to say the apps have zero telemetry. The only information we have is what the app stores give us - things like install numbers, uninstall numbers, etc.

  Quote
ebr
Chief Bottle Washer
Administrators
Posted July 25, 2018
Of course, we don't know what Apple and Roku are collecting themselves but we never track anything about your media.

ebr
Chief Bottle Washer

Administrators
Posted July 26, 2018

They would potentially have access to the URL to the media that is played.  We don't know for sure if they look at this but it is potentially possible.  This is why we never direct play remote urls from the store apps.

 

This is the relevant information from that post about Emby and Roku data collection from the post.  So on Emby's part, the apps have zero telemetry but it seems the devices have access to some information.  I would image that when I use Emby and how long will be collected from the device no matter what.  Also, they probably have access to the URL of what is played, but that is why Emby never direct plays urls from the store apps.

Does Emby still have zero telemetry of apps used on devices, such as the Roku TV?

I use direct play for Emby on my Roku TV on my network.  Does this mean that Roku is potentially able to access my media?  If not, does the bold part of Roku privacy policy from above mean that even though Emby has zero telemetry, Roku can still access information about my media, filename, metadata, bitrate...?  I would think and hope the answer is no, if Emby doesn't collect it Roku can't either.

Thanks.

 

[Happy2Play 9780]

Tagging @ebr@speechles

[ebr 16169]

Hi.  We still do not track anything about what is in your library or what you watch.  The app platforms, however, have always had this ability.  That has not changed and Roku has always done that.  As for specifically what they can tell, I can't really answer that.

[speechles 2055]

https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/03/roku-announces-new-lineup-of-high-end-tvs-to-launch-this-spring/

Right now the technology is limited to Roku TV models. But it will migrate into both Roku stick and STB models after this experiment works or fails. It uses AI to detect what is showing on the screen by taking snapshots of the screen every so often. It compares this to a database and can know what you are watching regardless of the app. It knows by what is displayed on the screen. They then take this data and know you watched that item. They can then tailor their homescreen and other items to suggest items related to content you might watch with their services. It is a way to make it easier for consumers to find related content without having to dig into search results.

Roku can track anything with a beacon. We cannot control these beacons being sent. Roku knows when you start to watch an item and when you stop watching. There is a become for playback started and one sent when playback ends. During those times of start they can watch your input and read screenshots and determine you are playing a specific PlayStation 5 game. Or perhaps you are watching reruns of Yo Yo Gabba! It will know what is connected to the Roku TV.

This technology is coming to all televisions and most set-top-boxes eventually. There is no way to opt-out that I know of.

Edited July 1, 2024 by speechles

[One2Go 120]

12 hours ago, speechles said:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/03/roku-announces-new-lineup-of-high-end-tvs-to-launch-this-spring/

Right now the technology is limited to Roku TV models. But it will migrate into both Roku stick and STB models after this experiment works or fails. It uses AI to detect what is showing on the screen by taking snapshots of the screen every so often.

Roku can track anything with a beacon. We cannot control these beacons being sent. Roku knows when you start to watch an item and when you stop watching. There is a become for playback started and one sent when playback ends. During those times of start they can watch your input and read screenshots and determine you are playing a specific PlayStation 5 game. Or perhaps you are watching reruns of Yo Yo Gabba! It will know what is connected to the Roku TV.

This technology is coming to all televisions and most set-top-boxes eventually. There is no way to opt-out that I know of.

Thank you for your most informative explanation. I am also interested in this topic going along with the advertisements being pushed onto the home screen. I have a late TCL 2022 Roku TV using exclusively the Emby App on it for playback. I presume that since it does not have AI that spying is not implemented in the 2022 models, is that correct or is there another way for them to be intrusive while using the Emby App?

In addition I presume that this forced violation of my privacy be avoided by using a Windows 7 box with a projector? Also I presume that Chromecast with Google TV will also eventually be following this pattern. What a sh**show this is and I detest this and I am wondering if they get away with this in Europe with their strict EDV laws.

[all4dom 101]

I'm starting to think it's time to travel back to the htpc days. Here's a question, if we run emby on a pc form startup, since most streaming apps are available on windows, isn't possible for emby to have some type of shortcut that would open that streaming app? Obviously streaming devices ate still cheap but as we see more & more "not user friendly" changes being implemented this could be a good solution.

 

[rbjtech 5284]

One solution, is to simply isolate the streaming device as if it was not connected to the internet.   A crude but effective way to do this is to give it the wrong gateway via a manually configured device IP address - only emby on the same LAN will then work and it will never call home, because it can't.    A more flexible way on capable equipment is to firewall off the device, only allowing traffic you specify.   If the device requires an internet connection to even start up, then you may be out of luck, but blocking the 'call home' specifically may be an option.

Edited July 3, 2024 by rbjtech

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

11 hours ago, rbjtech said:

One solution, is to simply isolate the streaming device as if it was not connected to the internet.   A crude but effective way to do this is to give it the wrong gateway via a manually configured device IP address - only emby on the same LAN will then work and it will never call home, because it can't.    A more flexible way on capable equipment is to firewall off the device, only allowing traffic you specify.   If the device requires an internet connection to even start up, then you may be out of luck, but blocking the 'call home' specifically may be an option.

While very possible it is generally a very bad idea to try and prevent Roku from updating. Often Roku makes a change and that requires app changes and that means that apps won't work if updates get out of sync. Of curse you can block everything from updating on the Roku but that also has negative effects. I have decided that I care very little what Roku can or cannot see. If they are really interested in what I watch then they are too stupid to be dangerous. I think what I watch is interesting and fun but I doubt others have any interest in my behavior. 

I can be as tin foil hat paranoid as anybody but Roku is just not a threat for me. More concerning is that the car sitting just down the street from me that contains two men almost all the time and they are not the same two men at different times.

There is just no good reason to block Roku from the network or the internet.