Warning: *privacy not included with this product
Roku Streambar & Soundbar
Review date: 11/02/2020
No lie, the speakers built into most TV kinda stink. Easy solution: upgrade the sound on your TV with a soundbar. Why not make it Roku's streambar or soundbar that can also stream in 4K your TV, movies, and news, as well as play music from Spotify or a Bluetooth connected device? The only reason we can see you might not want to do this is if you're worried about Roku snooping on every single thing you ever stream, watch, listen to, whether you do it it through the Roku or not, and then selling it to lord knows who. Yeah, you might not want that.
What could happen if something goes wrong
Roku is the nosey, gossipy neighbor of connected devices. They track just about everything! And then they share that data with way too many people. According to Roku's privacy policy, they share your personal data with advertisers to show you targeted ads and create profiles about you over time and across different services and devices. Roku also gives advertisers detailed data about your interactions with advertisements, your demographic data, and audience segment. Roku shares viewing data with measurement providers who may target you with ads. Roku may share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes. One of the researchers working on this guide said, "It had such a scary privacy policy, I didn't even connect it to my TV." Another researcher referred to Roku as a "privacy nightmare."
Privacy
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: No
App: No
Microphone
Device: Yes
App: Yes
Tracks Location
Device: Yes
App: Yes
What is required to sign up?
No
Phone
No
Third party account
No
What data does it collect?
Personal
Name, email, phone number, address, date of birth, viewing habits
Biometric
Social
How does it use this data?
What is the company’s known track record for protecting users’ data?
Consumer Reports found that the Roku was vulnerable to hacking in 2018.
Can this product be used offline?
User friendly privacy information?
Links to privacy information
Security
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Uses encryption in transit and at rest.
Strong password
There is a password for a Roku account but no password is required to use a Roku device once it’s set up.
Security updates
Manages vulnerabilities
Roku does not have a formal bug bounty program, but Roku has paid bounties in the past to people who disclosed security issues.
Privacy policy
Artificial Intelligence
Does the product use AI?
Does the AI use your personal data to make decisions about you?
Does the company allow users to see how the AI works?
Roku uses Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to track what you are watching on TV. They use this information to help advertisers target you more accurately.
