Your smart TV is now putting ads over your PlayStation

Google’s location tracking helped police identify a robbery suspect through a massive geofence search that swept up data from everyone nearby — and now the case is being heard at the US Supreme Court. The ruling could shape not just the future of geofence warrants, but how much privacy people actually have over sensitive data.

The UK’s new age-verification push could make showing ID online the norm instead of the exception. What starts with adult websites may end up reshaping privacy, anonymity, and access across the wider internet.

Back in 2024, Roku patented a system for showing ads over paused HDMI content — including games, movies, and videos playing from external devices like consoles and Blu-ray players. At the time it sounded dystopian, but it’s reality now.

From Samsung’s early pop-up ads to Roku’s “shoppable” commercials and Vizio’s tracking scandals, smart TVs have been drifting toward the same future for years: less like passive screens, more like data-harvesting ad platforms. We traced how the industry got here — and where it may be heading next.

What started with ads on cheap smart TVs is slowly spreading across the entire industry — including high-end OLED models. Looking back, it increasingly feels like the writing was already on the wall long before ads started appearing over HDMI inputs.