Samsung TV telemetry logs barking and crying, researcher says
A researcher says 2025 Samsung TVs report dog-barking and baby-crying sound events to Samsung and may borrow a soundbar mic. What is proven, what is not.
LandGadget Newsroom · · 3 min read
A day after we reported a study finding that opting out of smart TV tracking may not stop Samsung sets from sending ACR-like traffic, a security researcher has published new claims about what a 2025 Samsung TV reports home. The findings, posted on X by a researcher known as log4j and summarised by Notebookcheck, focus on sound.
What the researcher says
log4j started digging into the TV's Tizen software after it kept showing oddly specific ads, and has been posting findings since 21 October. According to the latest batch:
- Telemetry includes counters for dog-barking and baby-crying events, under an event labelled EV201/SOUNDSENSOR_ON.
- Other fields cover the ambient light sensor, camera state and camera streaming duration.
- The data goes out as key-value pairs and is logged on a Samsung cloud server.
- A region-specific neural network reportedly tracks activity inside apps such as YouTube, including skipped ads.
The researcher also claims that Samsung TVs without a built-in microphone look for a connected device that has one, such as a soundbar or Bluetooth speaker.
What is known, and what is not
The detection is not secret. Samsung advertises Pet Care and Family Care on its 2025 Vision AI TVs: on-device AI listens for barking or crying and sends an alert through the SmartThings app, and Samsung says Pet Care only works when the TV is off. What Samsung does not explicitly say is that counts of those events are sent back to it.
The soundbar claim is shakier. log4j's own notes say the counters don't prove an alert was ever shown and that the full process is still untraced. Another user watched a rooted Tizen TV open its mic for five seconds and then stop, adding that a stock TV may behave differently. A full write-up of about 44 sections has been promised but is not out yet, and Samsung has not commented. Treat this as an unverified, single-researcher investigation for now.
What you can do
If you own a recent Samsung TV, check the SmartThings app and the TV's settings for Pet Care, Family Care and voice features, and switch off anything you don't use. Review which Bluetooth audio devices are paired with the TV. Our step-by-step guide on how to turn off smart TV tracking walks through the privacy settings on Samsung and other brands, and what else you can do to limit what a TV sends. Choosing a new set? See our TV buying guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do Samsung TVs listen for barking and crying?
Yes, when Pet Care or Family Care is used: Samsung advertises on-device detection of barking and crying on 2025 Vision AI TVs. The new claim is that counts of these events are also reported to Samsung servers.
Can a Samsung TV use my soundbar's microphone?
A researcher claims mic-less Samsung TVs look for a connected device with a microphone, but this has not been proven and Samsung has not commented.
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