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  • The extent of Android TV snooping. (asking for information)

Hello,

I have in my LAN a TV box from my ISP running on Android, for which an update to Android TV 12 is planned.
From what I’ve understood, this is a major change for my TV box, since it’ll be soon an actual Android TV system, contrary to a more custom and limited Android.
The confirming fact is having, after the planned update, to accept the whole Google terms just after the post-update reboot in order to be allowed to watch TV… This has never been the case until now (several years with that box).

Despite the lack of cooperation from my ISP, I’m trying to know what are the implications of having such a device in the vicinity of my computers and other devices, that is, in my current setup, on the same LAN, and how much it is worse than the current system.
Should I assume that Google will get too much information? I’m thinking of things like SSID name (even though the TV box is on a wired connection), and MAC addresses of all my devices.

I know it’ll be possible to install for instance the Proton VPN app through Google Play Store – to be clear, GPS is not available with the current OS. However, I’m guessing that regardless of which apps I could install (VPN, DNS filter …), the Android TV box will continue to be able to snoop as much as without any apps of this type.

Obviously, my main concerns are not about GOS phones, but about the computers, mostly.
I’d like first to know what the implications are with the current setup, although I’m open to any suggestions regarding third-party boxes or firewall/router solutions.

Thanks.

    leafnose

    I can't tell you what Android TV does, but if the device is in your LAN, in theory it can do everything a PC can.

    nmap the LAN and find the MAC-Adresses to identify the devices, get all IP-adresses of LAN-devices, scan for open ports and running services on all your devices.

    if services like file sharing, FTP, etc. are not protected, it could access all the data stored there.

    If you want to make sure that noone is snooping around, you would have to put the box into a different networking subnet that has access to the internet only.

        DeletedUser161
        Thanks for the links.
        It is quite difficult to find much information about the security and the manufacturers of these boxes.
        I don’t see those threats (Google and viruses) as mutually exclusive, however.

        wonder75
        Yes, this is exactly my concern. I wanted to know if anyone had more information on what is theoretical and what is part of Google standard practice with Android TV, as I currently cannot afford time to monitor everything.
        I don’t have the hardware (yet) to configure better isolation between devices, nor I know what to choose. It has always been difficult to find the good hardware compatible with openwrt or dd-wrt; at least for me, most listed hardware was either too old or not available where I am.
        And I’m not even sure if it’s still the best choice, compared to more proprietary solution. I’m quite rusty on this matter, and my ISP did not give me enough notice to do my homework.

              leafnose + i would definitely login into android tv with some new-blank google account created just for the purpose

                  andrej567
                  Android TV does not require any Google account, at least in my case. The pre-installed Google Play app would be the only thing where it is required.

                      leafnose

                      You don't have to do complicated things. All you need is an additional router.
                      Just find a device that allows firewalling so the TVs traffic can only be routed via the INTERNET ROUTER

                      TV ------ ROUTER ----- INTERNET ROUTER ---- YOUR OTHER DEVICES

                          leafnose Android TV does not require any Google account, at least in my case

                          That's interesting, I can't for the life of me create an Android TV VM in Android Studio without having to use a Google account.

                              wonder75
                              You are right. I think I’m going that route, even if it’s only in the short term, as I wanted to do more for other reasons.
                              Thanks!

                              Hb1hf
                              I can only guess my ISP is rolling out a custom Android TV then. I’ve been told that some apps will already be installed for people who don’t want to use Google Play, since it requires a Google account. So, it’s maybe the result of a compromise on their part. It’s rather opaque, but that customary with ISPs.