Samsung to Block Smart TV Apps That Hijack Home Internet Connections

The company says it will ban apps that share users’ internet connections and remove existing apps with the functionality. For anyone treating a TV as just another node on the home network, this is a useful reminder that the app store is part of the threat model—not a trust boundary.

The app can stop being “just a game”

Security company Mnemonic found that some apps on Samsung’s Smart TV platform contained residential proxy SDKs. Those components can route somebody else’s web traffic through the owner’s home connection, making requests appear to originate from that household.

The risk is not limited to an app being open on screen. TechCrunch reported that apps containing the code could turn a TV into an always-on exit node, allowing outside traffic to continue passing through the connection even after the app was no longer running.

One example was a Pac-Man-licensed game that Samsung had featured in its Editor’s Choice section. The point is less “never install a game” than “store placement is not a security audit.” A polished badge and a familiar license do not tell you what code is executing behind the interface.

Mnemonic described a broader platform problem: some low-quality TV apps are little more than shells that load content from another website. A review may see only the small wrapper, not everything that the remote content causes the device to do. In other words, what gets reviewed is not necessarily what runs. That is a depressingly familiar API-shaped hole in the wall.

Samsung is changing the gate, not just the lock

After TechCrunch asked about the research, Samsung said it had already restricted new app registrations using proxy functionality. The company also said it was implementing platform-wide developer policies that explicitly ban residential proxy SDKs and was working to identify and remove apps already available in its store.

That distinction matters. A blacklist for one broken app is a patch. A developer policy and store-wide detection process are an attempt to change the trigger condition before more apps reach living rooms.

Samsung is not the only TV maker facing this problem. Engadget reported that LG said it would suspend apps capable of turning a customer’s TV into a residential proxy. Residential proxy code has also appeared in phone apps and other consumer electronics, including digital frames and Android streaming boxes, according to the reporting.

Residential proxies are not automatically illegal. They can be used to route traffic through ordinary residential connections to evade censorship, and AI companies increasingly use them to collect data from multiple locations. But cybersecurity companies also associate the networks with attackers and spies trying to hide malicious activity. Your television does not need to become an accomplice simply because an SDK vendor found a way to monetize idle bandwidth.

What to check before the policy catches up

If you own a Samsung smart TV, the practical move is an audit, not panic. Review installed apps, remove anything unfamiliar or unnecessary, and be especially cautious with thin wrappers, unofficial utilities, and apps whose purpose is unclear. Keep the TV’s software and apps updated, but do not assume an update proves that every existing app has been inspected.

For more technical households, put the television on a segmented network where possible. That will not make a malicious proxy component harmless, but it can reduce the blast radius around other devices and services. Also check the router’s connected-device list: the TV should not quietly behave like a new outbound traffic appliance.

The advanced configuration is the same one that saves many automation projects: define what the device is allowed to trigger, then watch for payloads that do not fit. Unexpected bandwidth use, persistent connections, or traffic patterns that continue after an app is closed deserve investigation. And if you are building automations around cloud APIs, remember that hidden infrastructure limits can be just as expensive as hidden proxy behavior—a costly API rate-limit lesson is still a lesson in treating external services as untrusted dependencies.

Samsung’s promised enforcement is therefore worth watching more than the headline. The real test is whether its store can detect the code inside thin app shells, block new registrations, and remove old components before a smart TV becomes somebody else’s network exit.