Would you trade your privacy for a free TV?

March 25, 2024

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Telly is an emerging smart TV company that made waves in 2024. First, the company partnered with various streaming and media companies such as his Spotify, Microsoft, and Nielsen.

Second, they announced a program to give away a 4K 55-inch TV for free. Yes, that’s right, it’s free. But nothing in this world is truly free. So how is Terry going to make money on these TVs? The answer may come as a shock, but this is a very innovative way to get customers to pay for their TVs. But it’s a method that can cause anxiety. This means that you will be paying for your TV using data.

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Telly is an emerging smart TV company that is making waves in 2024. (Telly)

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Telly smart TVs come with a large bar integrated into the TV just below the screen, which is used to display personalized ads that cannot be bypassed. Not only does the secondary screen display ads at all times, but it also features some useful widgets that can display game scores, live stock information, and simple weather information. However, in addition to these widgets, the secondary display also shows some related ads that may be relevant to you.

Telly smart TVs have a large bar built into the TV that is used to display personalized ads that cannot be bypassed. (Terry)

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Every company sells data, so why not get free TV from them?

At least that’s Terry’s premise. Terry isn’t completely wrong when he says that all companies, especially all the smart TVs on the market, are selling data. From Samsung to Sony, small pieces of data are collected by smart TVs and sold to advertisers.

The data we’re talking about can relate to your internet service provider, your specific location, your email address, your viewing habits and preferences, and just about everything else you do on your smart TV, like connecting your sound system or gaming console. There is a gender. It can and will be used to collect data.

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Once Tely collects your data, it creates advertising profiles and sells that data to various advertising companies. (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson)

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How does the Tely program work?

Telly hasn’t invented a solution to the privacy crisis in the digital age, but it has introduced a new trade-off: free privacy in exchange for a 4K 55-inch TV. If you don’t mind giving up your data for your TV, here’s how the Telly program works.

First, you need to sign up with this company. You must fill out the form with your legal name, shipping address, and valid U.S. phone number. Next, you’ll need to download the Telly smartphone app, agree to data collection policies, and complete a survey to help Telly create your advertising profile. Just to be clear, all of this data collection happens before you receive your TV and turn it on.

Tely has partnered with various streaming and media companies including Spotify, Microsoft, and Nielsen. (Terry)

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What will happen to my data?

This is the difficult part. Telly is absolutely correct when he claims that “all smart TVs already sell data.” All smart TVs available in the market are collecting data on users. This includes innocuous data related to the streaming apps you use and the shows you watch, but it also collects personal data ranging from your name, email address, and location to phone numbers and biometric data. High-end smart TV with camera.

Once Tely collects that data, it uses it to create an advertising profile. More importantly, that data is sold to various advertising companies who use it to churn out more ads.

This is nothing new in the Big Tech world. We give out personal information every day, whether it’s location information from an iPhone or his Android smartphone, or biometric health data from a smartwatch. Every day, we knowingly, or at least in accordance with the big tech companies, click “Agree and Continue” without reading the full terms of service and transfer our data to a chain of tech and advertising companies.

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Terry’s trade-off

Early reviews indicate that the TV is actually a decent TV. It has a 4K resolution with HDR and HDR10+ support, but it only has a 60Hz refresh rate, so it’s not a great TV when it comes to gaming. He also prefers higher refresh rates for watching sports, but movies and TV shows look fine on his 60Hz refresh rate.

Tely also managed to install an integrated Dolby soundbar in the space between the TV screen and the secondary display. There’s also an integrated camera with a privacy shutter that can be used for Zoom calls, but no other features. Tely claims it doesn’t record anything, and it’s good that they provided a privacy shutter, but I personally don’t like having a camera on my TV.

The real drawback when comparing the Telly to other smart TVs on the market is that the Telly isn’t really a smart TV. It comes preloaded with a few apps, notably Zoom and Spotify, but all streaming apps come from the included Android dongle that plugs into the HDMI port, so annoyingly his second You will need a remote control.

This TV comes with the usual ports, including HDMI 2.1 with eARC, which is perfect for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X gamers.

Cart important points

There’s a process you have to go through to sign up to receive TV from Telly, but it feels uncomfortably close to the line between mutual consent and outright surveillance. The Telly doesn’t seem like a bad TV, but you can get pretty good smart TVs these days for around $500.

Ultimately, deciding whether Telly is worth it will depend on how you view data and personal privacy in today’s digital world, but personally, I think there’s a strong case for complete privacy here. There are too many influences for me to buy Tely myself. I am particularly concerned about how people can get caught up in ‘free TV’ deals without fully understanding what they are signing up for.

What do you think about Terry? Would you give us data in exchange for a TV? Let us know in the comments below. Please let us know by email. Cyberguy.com/Contact