The convenience of the streaming TV service brought a revolution in how viewers consumed content, but recent reports abound that the industry has gone ahead to snoop on its users in large scale.

While streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu have been celebrated for the variety of content they availed to them, they also raise a number of concerns over privacy.
A report lately states that such firms trace elaborate data about the viewers' habits and preferences, including highly personal information, whether for targeted ads or resale to third parties, or to inform production. 

It collects information on what content viewers watch, when they watched it, for how long, and on what devices. While this can serve to enhance user experiences-for instance, recommending shows or movies-the data collection goes far beyond what's needed for simple preference collection.

According to the report, some companies track the geolocation, device identifiers, and IP addresses of the viewers. This aggregated data allows the creation of highly detailed profiles of each individual user.

These profiles are lucrative assets. Many times, such streaming services collaborate with third-party advertisers, giving them access to this information in order to deliver very targeted ads. Similarly, this data informs the type of content these services create or procure to enable them to appeal to peculiar tastes of an audience based on patterns that are demographic or regional.

How User Tracking by Streaming Services Works. Cookies, for instance, allow a platform to remember user preferences and login details, whereas pixels trace user behavior across sites and applications. These small pixels, sometimes inserted into the core of the platforms themselves, count every click and view.

Of more concern are those practices at the advanced analytics level that can sometimes even record the movement of users' eyes and biometric data. One is left begging the question, how far will these services go?

It is a situation that has continued to grow more and more complicated with the rise of so-called "smart TVs." The makers of these smart TVs have pre-installed apps for streaming into their devices; these apps collect user data right off the device.
Even while users are not watching, the device is active in monitoring viewing habits and feeding that information back to service providers.

This in itself is a huge collection of data, which really raises concerns about privacy. Often, the audiences are not even aware of the degree to which their data gets captured. While most streaming services have a written privacy policy, these documents are usually so wordy and full of confusing legalese, hiding the real nature of their practices of data collection. Most users would actually not even know they were signing off on some sort of data tracking when consenting.

Moreover, the report indicated a severe lack of transparency regarding how such information is applied. Streamed data, for example, may be shared or sold to third parties without due notification of users. The same information can also be utilized by advertisers in the quest for better ad targeting. This has tended to create the impression of users being watched or even manipulated.

Data is the new currency, and with live streams, streaming services are well aware of that. Monetizing user data enables them to keep subscription costs relatively low or even offer ad-supported free tiers. But in all fairness, a number of ethical questions arise. Shouldn't viewers have to sell their privacy for a little affordable content?

In recent years, some have attempted to placate these concerns with more transparent data policies or even features that put a focus on privacy, like the tracking opt-out feature on Apple TV. However, the vast majority of services continue to rely on aggressive data collection methods in order to give their revenue streams a boost.

But with increased awareness of these practices, greater regulation finally began to take hold. Stronger data collection regulations and consent requirements were added thanks to Europe's General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
New laws spark the flame of transparency in the data handling practices of companies, giving users more control of their personal information.

Yet, compliance remains a challenge. Most streaming services operate internationally and hence have to navigate a complex web of legal requirements across various jurisdictions, and secondly, enforcement of such laws is still very much in development, and it remains to be seen if such laws effectively rein in the data collection antics of streaming services.

While such surveillance by the streamers may sound a bit invasive, there are things a viewer could do to defend themselves against such invasions of their privacy. Privacy browsers, VPNs, and opting-out options from personalized ads are options that reduce what data streaming services can capture.
Thus, increased public awareness and, importantly, demands for transparency by the public may also lead to more ethical practices in the future.

Meanwhile, industry players have to look in the direction of monetizing in ways that are more transparent and less intrusive. As data collection practices increasingly fall under scrutiny, the adoption of user-friendly privacy measures may be a competitive advantage that will occur in the future.
Balancing data collection with protection of user privacy will be increasingly required for streaming services if trust is to be kept high in an increasingly data-driven world.

The bottom line is that data collection practices in the streaming TV industry are a looming privacy concern.While that same data provides a way to deliver personalized content and targeted ads, it still remains pretty unclear what happens to the collected data-and if misused, such actions could result in backlash from viewers and regulators alike.

With increasing awareness, in-store reform of such practices by the industry, or their being subject to stricter regulatory oversight, may be very likely.