PRIVACY: You watch TV. Your TV watches back.

I set up each smart TV as most people do: by tapping “OK” with the remote to each on-screen prompt. Then using software from Princeton University called the IoT Inspector, I watched how each model transmitted data. Lots went flying from streaming apps and their advertising partners. But even when I switched to a live broadcast signal, I could see each TV sending out reports as often as once per second.

Many TV makers say tracking what we watch helps them provide helpful personalized recommendations. Right, and people read Playboy for the articles. TV tracking is mostly about filling in a missing chunk of data about our lives for advertisers and media companies. I tracked down some of the firms that buy it from TV makers. They told me it makes TVs more like Facebook, where content can be measured and ads can be better targeted and tracked for performance.

And just as on Facebook, things can turn creepy.

Can?