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Samsung TVs May Hack Connected Speakers' Mics to Detect Sounds

Extremetech • October 28, 2026

A tinkerer on X says some 2025 Samsung smart TVs may use the microphones on a connected soundbar or Bluetooth speaker when the television doesn't have a built-in mic of its own. It can then send data on the sounds it hears to Samsung.

X user @log4j, a self-proclaimed reverse engineer, shared Friday: "If your Samsung TV model doesn't have a microphone, it will look for connected devices with one, such as a soundbar or a connected Bluetooth device." According to them, whatever the TV hears via the connected device then "gets shipped off to Bixby."

Log4j says they gained root access to their own 2025 Samsung TV running the Tizen OS and examined its software and telemetry. They found that the TV "classifies what audio it hears" before sending that data back to Samsung. In log4j's own example, the TV heard a dog barking and a baby crying.

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Samsung hasn't publicly responded to log4j's claims. The company does advertise sound-based "care features" on 2025 Vision AI TVs, including Pet Care and Family Care, which continue to work when a TV is powered off (so long as it's plugged in). According to Samsung, these features are designed to detect the very sounds log4j's TV heard, ostensibly to play soothing music when a pet or baby is upset.

For now, we don't have any hard evidence that Samsung TVs use connected mic-enabled devices to listen in on conversations. Samsung's Smart TV privacy documentation says voice recognition is opt-in and that interactive voice commands may go to a third-party speech-to-text provider. Interestingly, this documentation doesn't mention the TV using a soundbar's microphone or tracking sound events.

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Samsung TVs Allegedly Use Connected Device Mics for Audio Surveillance A researcher known as log4j claims that certain Samsung smart TVs, particularly models from 2025, may be listening to users through connected devices like soundbars or Bluetooth speakers, even if they lack built-in microphones. The researcher discovered that the TVs can collect audio data and categorize it, sending it back to Samsung, including events like dog barking and baby crying. Samsung has previously faced scrutiny over privacy concerns related to its TVs, including a class action lawsuit alleging unauthorized audio and video data collection. While Samsung promotes features that utilize sound detection, it has not confirmed the specific claims made by log4j. The situation raises significant privacy implications for users of Samsung smart TVs. Samsung has not yet publicly responded to these allegations. 4 sources 40

Samsung TVs May Hack Connected Speakers' Mics to Detect Sounds

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