I hope not.

I think i can still trust my devices to not be actively listening trough every hole. I can, right?

As far as i could research it is technically feasible though very impractical and low quality, way easier to sell people voice command features instead.

As i understand it also depends on whether its a “active” speaker or not, has an amplifier behind it.

Tvs usually use a speaker array, a bad actor company could design it in a way that one or two of those can be used to record sound in case the microphone is no longer detected.

An ad collector wouldn’t go that far on purpose, a state intelligence operator who is covertly part of the company might.

Can you help me understand why i got downvotes for posting the following comment in this very same community 2 days ago?

I am not saying the following happens, i think there is no proof it happens, but its technically doable.

They are capable of scanning for local networks and bluetooth devices which can be used to identify a location. (This part they definitely do)

If your neighbour has an lg tv, or the presence of the tv is extracted through your phone. Then they know where it is and they also know of any open/public wifi networks around.

The researchers from gamers nexus can connect to 2 (ssid) networks at once for some reason.

In theory a neighbours lg tv could broadcast their wifi credentials to your tv to connect to upload the data.

Remember ye old life-hack that you can use earbuds as a microphone in a pinch?

Speakers and microphones are conceptually the same technology. If your tv can play sound then in theory it can be used by a malicious hacker or company to records sound.

Included under “what the machine elves told me”

Just skipping a meal with meat where you would usually have one is already a big step for the individual.

Gamin nexus mentioned it somewhere in their long video.

These devices do send encrypted information to their corporate masters we cannot know if it happens, but with what we know what these devices do we can conclude they designed to do stuff like that.

I am not saying the following happens, i think there is no proof it happens, but its technically doable.

They are capable of scanning for local networks and bluetooth devices which can be used to identify a location. (This part they definitely do)

If your neighbour has an lg tv, or the presence of the tv is extracted through your phone. Then they know where it is and they also know of any open/public wifi networks around.

The researchers from gamers nexus can connect to 2 (ssid) networks at once for some reason.

In theory a neighbours lg tv could broadcast their wifi credentials to your tv to connect to upload the data.

Don’t let this discourage you.

You can self host on your local network just fine and never portforward which is what exposes it to the outside.

I don’t need to watch tv or upload pictures to my server outside of my home. Its perfectly useable.

When you are ready and feel more confident you can setup your own wireguard vpn and only expose that.

Then Your device can connected to that vpn tunnels inside and can acces everything like home.

Currently without vpn your device is at risk every time it connects to a network you don’t own. A third party vpn is not a guarantee your data is safe either. Your home vpn though means all your outside the home networking is fully encrypted and outsiders cant even detect your home adresses is running a vpn to hack. (No ping unless you have the key)

Did you know that it was originally a band aid for combat situations?

Also that nowadays the industry massively prefers gaffer tape cause it can be removed without leaving a mess.

I feel that is moving the goal post a bit but i am a history nerd so i will happily read about any historical examples of what you speak. (Not sarcasm i really really love learning and being proven wrong)

Here is what Wikipedia had to say about the orgins of copyright law (tldr its censorship by church and state)

There is an earlier story about a dispute of a copied work which ended in a battle its said to have caused 3000 casualties, an unreliable number but enough to assume this wasn’t exactly David vs Goliat either.

You must be joking, the vast majority of patents are owned by large corporations.

Can you give me one example of where copyright is protecting an average wealth citizen?

Enforcing copyright requires you to have the economic resources to create lawsuits when it gets infringed. Sometimes enforcing your rights can costs into millions of dollars. Infringers often have the resources to delay the legal case till you the rightsholder have no more money left to continue.

Places like china don’t care about it either and they will just copy and sell on the western market anyway.

Some sources for the later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYHIJtQxbzw

https://qz.com/771727/chinas-factories-in-shenzhen-can-copy-products-at-breakneck-speed-and-its-time-for-the-rest-of-the-world-to-get-over-it

It would be way less of a problem for sure, but not moot. An individual inventor can still stop other people from using an identical solution simply for being first to file the paperwork.

Some things (field of medicine/environmentalism) can’t wait 15 years for an effective democratised solution.

The idea that someone would be rewarded for limiting access to such solution sickens me.

Naturally they would deserve global praise possible in the form of a reward for creating the idea that changed the world for the better, but capitalism is designed to not do so.

To often in industry the actual creative inventor gets nothing, while the company they work under gets the patent to exploits the demand.

Firmly an example of capitalism cannibalism themselves.

It may not abolish copyright but it is causing cracks.

Copyright was always a scam, non personal information should be free. Multiple people can have the same good idea, walling of access to a good idea behind capital blocks human progress.

Before anyone says something, yes artists deserve to eat… just like everyone else. Being economically productive should not be a condition for that. Make your art for fun and enjoy the honor of being copied with a sidedish of UBI.

Again for clarity i think its fine that people use ddg, its betters then bing and google. But the absolute trust people seem to have is wild considering all of this. I occasionally use both ddg and startpage myself

The summary of my evidence is the hyperlink in my first comment.

Back on topic;

Hé doesn’t say that, the trackers are being blocked since 2022 since microsoft agreed to change the policy. Thats also in my original link

I guess you could believe this was unrelated that this happened just after it became a scandal but i am not that naive.

As a response to the scandal the ceo has the following to say.

For non-search tracker blocking (eg in our browser), we block most third-party trackers. Unfortunately our Microsoft search syndication agreement prevents us from doing more to Microsoft-owned properties. However, we have been continually pushing and expect to be doing more soon.

Bleeping computers, who originally ran this story hit the nail on its head with

“While DuckDuckGo has been transparent regarding the advertisement partnership with Microsoft, it is not clear why they did not disclose the allowing of Microsoft trackers until a security researcher discovered it.

This revelation comes at the wrong time, as DuckDuckGo recently went after Google for their new ‘Topics’ and ‘FLEDGE’ tracking methods, saying, “Google says they’re better for privacy, but the simple fact is tracking is tracking, no matter what you call it.”

Especially that last part is something ddg seemed to really want to forget cause after the ceo came with the following.

"We have always been extremely careful to never promise anonymity when browsing, because that frankly isn’t possible given how quickly trackers change how they work to evade protections and the tools we currently offer. When most other browsers on the market talk about tracking protection, they are usually referring to 3rd-party cookie protection and fingerprinting protection, and our browsers for iOS, Android, and our new Mac beta, impose these restrictions on third-party tracking scripts, including those from Microsoft.

Thats a huge leap in attitude from tracking is tracking…

You are allowed to trust this guy, i see no reason why anyone would and i am gonna continue to get people to remain critical.

On the browser, i legit didn’t know there where 2 products but i don’t think that matters regardless trusting this corporation.

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.

I think the words of Gabriel Weinberg ( founder of ddg) as recorded on Wikipedia is a reliable source but you don’t have to believe him.

Microsoft does get your data. This is why i wrote that comment.

Read the wikipedia entry. Microsoft and ddg have a long standing openly known about deal.

Microsoft allows ddg to block bing trackers since 2022, ddg has always allowed them till then. but they must be getting something else to change that policy. No way microsoft is just giving api acces out of being good.

Its getting tired to repeat myself, which are verifiable facts.

They have a long standing corporate deal with microsoft.

The details are vague but this is not hidden, or kept secret.

Ddg has themselves said that the policy that required them to give exclusive acces to Microsoft trackers no longer applied and now blocks them since 2022. This is on the Wikipedia i shared.

But if you read between them lines. They are following Microsoft policies, if they are now allowed to block those trackers its because microslop allowed them to do so.

Tech companies only do such thing if they have incentives. A more covert way to get the same data, a long term plan to acquire and otherwise for PR.

Searxng also uses those same search querys but without corporate deal. Thats why if you refresh a lot you hit an api limit… any search engine that does not do that while using these trackers is somehow paying or bartering for access.

I did say there still better then the main page but i guess i should have put more emphasis on that.

I know many people irl who are are into computers and use ddg, blindly trusting that there search is fully private while there current search terms are directly used to serve them ads (somehow that does not count as personalized)

Its shades of grey, i am very happy they took agency to get rid of google but I really wish people, at least in the computer sector, where more aware of how far corporate reach goes.