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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.
我喜欢裹着睡衣，一个人狂看《黄金女郎》的重播。但我并不孤单。
Once every few minutes, my TV beams out a report about what’s on my screen to Samsung, the company that made it.
每隔几分钟，我的三星电视就会向三星公司发送一份报告，显示我屏幕上的内容。
Chances are, your TV is watching you too.
很有可能，你的电视也在看着你。
Ever wonder why TVs are getting so cheap? Manufacturing efficiency plays a role.
有没有想过为何电视变得越来越便宜呢？生产效率是一个影响因素。
But it’s also because TVs have joined the ranks of websites, apps, and credit cards in the lucrative business of sharing your information.
但这也是因为，电视已经加入了网站，应用和信用卡的行列，进入了分享你的信息的高利润的生意中。
Americans spend an average of three and a half hours in front of a TV each day, according to eMarketer.
据市场研究公司eMarketer，美国人平均每天看电视的时间为三个半小时。
Your TV records may not contain sensitive financial data,
你的电视记录可能不包含敏感的金融数据，
but that history is a window to your interests, joys, and embarrassments.
但是那个历史是了解你的兴趣，喜好和尴尬的窗口。
And marketers are grabbing it because, legally speaking, we gave our permission when we set up our Internet-connected smart TVs.
营销人员会获取它的原因是，从法律上讲，我们在安装上连接互联网的智能电视时，已经给出了我们的许可。
The TV makers sell this information to data brokers, who in turn sell it to advertisers and media companies,
电视制造商把这些信息卖给数据代理公司，数据代理公司再把这些信息卖给广告商和媒体公司，
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.
他们现在能够将你在手机、平板电脑和笔记本电脑上所看的东西与所做的事情联系起来——甚至与你在商店里买的东西联系起来。
Marketers can then retarget ads you see on TV to your computer and phone.
然后，营销人员可以将你在电视上看到的广告重新定位到你的电脑和手机上。
They can measure how many people bought their product after seeing their ad.
他们可以衡量有多少人在看了他们的广告后购买了他们的产品。
I ran an experiment on my own Samsung TV as well as new models from Samsung, TCL Roku TV, Vizio, and LG.
我用自己的三星电视以及三星、TCL罗库电视、瑞轩和LG的新机型进行了实验。
I set up each as most people do: by tapping “OK” with the remote to each on-screen prompt.
我像大多数人一样设置它们：屏幕上出现提示后，用遥控器点击“OK”。
Then, using special software from Princeton University, I watched how each model transmitted data.
然后，利用普林斯顿大学的特殊软件，我观察了每个模型是如何传输数据的。
What I found: Some TVs record and send out everything that crosses the pixels on your screen.
我发现：有些电视会记录并发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.
他们追踪的并不总是“你”，但你的行为帮助创建了行为方式或看电视方式与你相同的人的聚合统计模型。
Still, you might find it unnerving. When I set up my TV, I didn’t realize I could say no to any of this.
不过，你还是可能会感到不安。当我安装电视的时候，我没有意识到我可以对这些说不。
You can change your settings after the fact, if you’re prepared to hunt around in out-of-the-way menus,
如果你准备在偏僻的菜单中搜寻，你可以在事后更改你的设置，
such as “Terms and Policies.” But it may be worth the hunt.
例如“条款和政策”。“但这可能是值得的。
