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Wrapped in a Snuggie, I like to binge on reruns of The Golden Girls all by myself. Except I’m not really alone.
我喜歡裹著睡衣，一個人狂看《黃金女郎》的重播。但我并不孤單。
Once every few minutes, my TV beams out a report about what’s on my screen to Samsung, the company that made it.
每隔幾分鐘，我的三星電視就會向三星公司發送一份報告，顯示我屏幕上的內容。
Chances are, your TV is watching you too.
很有可能，你的電視也在看著你。
Ever wonder why TVs are getting so cheap? Manufacturing efficiency plays a role.
有沒有想過為何電視變得越來越便宜呢？生產效率是一個影響因素。
But it’s also because TVs have joined the ranks of websites, apps, and credit cards in the lucrative business of sharing your information.
但這也是因為，電視已經加入了網站，應用和信用卡的行列，進入了分享你的信息的高利潤的生意中。
Americans spend an average of three and a half hours in front of a TV each day, according to eMarketer.
據市場研究公司eMarketer，美國人平均每天看電視的時間為三個半小時。
Your TV records may not contain sensitive financial data,
你的電視記錄可能不包含敏感的金融數據，
but that history is a window to your interests, joys, and embarrassments.
但是那個歷史是了解你的興趣，喜好和尷尬的窗口。
And marketers are grabbing it because, legally speaking, we gave our permission when we set up our Internet-connected smart TVs.
營銷人員會獲取它的原因是，從法律上講，我們在安裝上連接互聯網的智能電視時，已經給出了我們的許可。
The TV makers sell this information to data brokers, who in turn sell it to advertisers and media companies,
電視制造商把這些信息賣給數據代理公司，數據代理公司再把這些信息賣給廣告商和媒體公司，
who are now able to link up what you watch with what you do on your phone, tablet, and laptop—even with what you buy in stores.
他們現在能夠將你在手機、平板電腦和筆記本電腦上所看的東西與所做的事情聯系起來——甚至與你在商店里買的東西聯系起來。
Marketers can then retarget ads you see on TV to your computer and phone.
然后，營銷人員可以將你在電視上看到的廣告重新定位到你的電腦和手機上。
They can measure how many people bought their product after seeing their ad.
他們可以衡量有多少人在看了他們的廣告后購買了他們的產品。
I ran an experiment on my own Samsung TV as well as new models from Samsung, TCL Roku TV, Vizio, and LG.
我用自己的三星電視以及三星、TCL羅庫電視、瑞軒和LG的新機型進行了實驗。
I set up each as most people do: by tapping “OK” with the remote to each on-screen prompt.
我像大多數人一樣設置它們：屏幕上出現提示后，用遙控器點擊“OK”。
Then, using special software from Princeton University, I watched how each model transmitted data.
然后，利用普林斯頓大學的特殊軟件，我觀察了每個模型是如何傳輸數據的。
What I found: Some TVs record and send out everything that crosses the pixels on your screen.
我發現：有些電視會記錄并發送屏幕上的所有像素。
It’s not always “you” they’re after, but your behaviors help create aggregated statistical models of people who act or watch TV the way you do.
他們追蹤的并不總是“你”，但你的行為幫助創建了行為方式或看電視方式與你相同的人的聚合統計模型。
Still, you might find it unnerving. When I set up my TV, I didn’t realize I could say no to any of this.
不過，你還是可能會感到不安。當我安裝電視的時候，我沒有意識到我可以對這些說不。
You can change your settings after the fact, if you’re prepared to hunt around in out-of-the-way menus,
如果你準備在偏僻的菜單中搜尋，你可以在事后更改你的設置，
such as “Terms and Policies.” But it may be worth the hunt.
例如“條款和政策”。“但這可能是值得的。
