Researchers scanned 6,038 smart TV apps and found proxy software in 2,058 of them. Samsung has now banned the practice a month after LG did. A security consultant warns a single server-side change could activate hundreds of millions of TVs at once.
Published: Tuesday, 4 August 2026 | BrandClickX News Desk
Summary
Samsung confirmed on 3 August 2026 that it is banning smart TV apps containing residential proxy software from its Tizen platform, following research by security firm Mnemonic. Spur Intelligence previously found proxy SDKs in 26.9% of Samsung Tizen apps and 42.5% of LG webOS apps. LG announced a similar ban on 21 July. Affected apps included a Pac-Man game Samsung had featured in Editor’s Choice.
Key Takeaways
- Samsung confirmed a platform-wide ban on residential proxy SDKs on 3 August 2026
- New app registrations with proxy functionality are already blocked
- Spur Intelligence found proxy SDKs in 26.9% of Tizen apps and 42.5% of webOS apps
- Of 6,038 apps scanned, 2,058 contained the software
- Bright Data proxy code was found in a Pac-Man game featured in Samsung’s Editor’s Choice
- Affected apps included clocks, screensavers and file managers
- Mnemonic warns a server-side change could activate hundreds of millions of TVs at once
- LG announced a comparable ban on 21 July 2026
What Samsung Said
The statement, provided to TechCrunch, commits to three separate actions.
“We have already restricted new app registrations that incorporate such proxy functionalities on our Smart TV platform. We are currently implementing strict platform-wide developer policies explicitly banning residential proxy SDKs, and we are working to identify and remove all apps currently available in our store that contain these components.”
Breaking that down:
- New registrations with proxy functionality are already blocked
- Developer policies explicitly banning the SDKs are being implemented
- Existing apps are being identified and removed
Samsung added that protecting user privacy and platform security remains a priority and that it will continue reviewing applications for compliance.
Notably, the statement came after TechCrunch approached Samsung about the research. The Korean publication Electronic Time has reported that both Samsung and LG have begun blocking and removing the affected applications.
The Numbers
Spur Intelligence scanned 6,038 smart TV apps across both platforms and found residential proxy SDKs in 2,058 of them.
| Platform | Apps containing proxy SDKs |
| LG webOS | 42.5% |
| Samsung Tizen | 26.9% |
| Combined | 34.1% |
The research was published via KrebsOnSecurity on 2 July 2026. Major SDK providers identified included Bright Data, Massive and Oxylabs.
What the Apps Looked Like
Harmless utilities, which is the point.
Reporting describes the affected applications as games, digital clocks, aquarium screensavers and file management tools the sort of thing people install once and forget.
The most striking example: researchers found Bright Data proxy code inside a simple Pac-Man game that Samsung had endorsed and prominently featured in its “Editor’s Choice” section on customers’ TV screens.
That detail undermines any suggestion this was confined to obscure corners of the store. The platform’s own curation surfaced it.
How It Actually Worked
The user opens the app, accepts a one-time consent screen, and the code activates.
According to Mnemonic’s research, once accepted, the software turns the television into a conduit for someone else’s web traffic — and continues running in the background until the app is deleted.
Many apps did technically ask. Businessday reported that a number of these applications sought consent through prompts asking users whether they preferred to watch advertisements or instead share a portion of their device’s network resources.
That framing is worth examining. It presents bandwidth-sharing as the ad-free option a trade most people would take without understanding that “network resources” means strangers’ internet traffic exiting through their home IP address.
Whether that constitutes informed consent is the question this episode really raises, and it is not one Samsung’s ban answers.
The Warning That Should Worry Platform Operators
Harrison Sand, an offensive security consultant at Mnemonic, described the scaling risk in a single sentence.
He warned that a “simple code change on a web server” could instantly enlist hundreds of millions of televisions into the network at once without any further action from users.
That is the structural problem. The SDK sits dormant on the device. Activation is server-side. Nothing needs to be pushed to the TV, no update needs approving, and no user needs to click anything.
It also explains why app-store review is insufficient here. Security analysts have noted that apps appearing simple and benign at review can later be updated or in this case, remotely activated creating a gap between what a manufacturer vetted and what eventually runs in someone’s living room.
Why This Matters to the TV Owner
When someone else’s traffic exits through your home IP address, it looks like your traffic.
Any illegal activity routed that way points back to your connection. That is not a hypothetical privacy abstraction it is an attribution problem with potential consequences for the account holder.
Residential proxy networks are increasingly linked to cybercrime precisely because traffic from a genuine household connection evades the filtering applied to data-centre IP ranges.
But they are not inherently illegal, and this deserves stating plainly. The technology is used legitimately for market intelligence, price monitoring and collecting publicly available data for AI training. The problem is not the existence of residential proxies. It is enrolling consumer devices into them via a consent prompt on a screensaver app.
Timeline
| Date | Development |
| 2 July 2026 | KrebsOnSecurity publishes Spur research on proxy SDK prevalence |
| 21 July 2026 | LG Electronics USA says it will suspend non-compliant webOS apps |
| 22 July 2026 | Bright Data responds |
| 3 August 2026 | Mnemonic publishes research; TechCrunch approaches Samsung |
| 3 August 2026 | Samsung confirms the platform-wide ban |
The Wider Context
Smart TV platforms have become significant advertising businesses, which shapes the incentives around what gets onto them.
Samsung Ads opened Smart TV home screens to programmatic buying via The Trade Desk and DV360 in June 2026, and launched remote-enabled interactive advertisements with Amazon Ads later the same month.
Separately, DoubleVerify figures showed connected TV fraud schemes up 140% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
Those facts are not directly connected to the proxy SDKs, but they describe the environment: a rapidly monetising platform with a large third-party app ecosystem and review processes built for a simpler era.
Expert Analysis
Three things stand out, and the least discussed is the most important.
The prevalence is the story, not the ban. Roughly a quarter of Samsung’s app catalogue and over 40% of LG’s contained this software. That is not a handful of bad actors evading review. It suggests a commercial norm had established itself across the smart TV development ecosystem, and both platforms failed to notice until outside researchers told them.
Consent was technically obtained and practically meaningless. Users clicked something. What they were agreeing to — that their home connection would carry unknown third-party traffic indefinitely, with legal attribution pointing at them — was not what the prompt communicated.
The remote-activation risk outlasts the ban. Removing apps from a store does not remove them from televisions where they are already installed. Sand’s point about a server-side change enlisting hundreds of millions of devices applies to every set where one of these 2,058 apps is still present. Samsung has not said whether it can force removal from devices in the field, and that is the question a reader most needs answered.
Credit where due: both manufacturers acted within weeks of the research being published, and Samsung’s statement commits to removal rather than merely blocking new submissions. That is a stronger response than platform operators often give.
What Owners Can Do
- Review installed apps on your smart TV and remove anything you do not use or recognise
- Be cautious with prompts offering an ad-free experience in exchange for “sharing network resources” or similar phrasing
- Check your router’s connected devices if you are technically inclined, and monitor for unexpected outbound traffic
- Keep TV firmware updated, since platform-level enforcement may arrive through system updates
- Prefer built-in or well-known streaming apps over utility apps from unfamiliar developers
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Samsung ban?
Smart TV apps containing residential proxy SDKs software that routes third-party internet traffic through the TV owner’s home connection. Samsung has blocked new registrations, is banning the SDKs in developer policy, and is removing existing apps.
What is a residential proxy?
Technology that makes a third party’s web request appear to come from an ordinary household connection rather than a data centre. It is used legitimately for market research and price monitoring, and increasingly by cybercriminals seeking to evade filtering.
How many apps were affected?
Spur Intelligence scanned 6,038 smart TV apps and found 2,058 containing residential proxy software 34.1% overall, comprising 42.5% of LG webOS apps and 26.9% of Samsung Tizen apps.
Which apps contained this software?
Reporting describes games, digital clocks, aquarium screensavers and file management tools. One notable example was a Pac-Man game that Samsung had featured in its Editor’s Choice section.
Did users agree to this?
Technically, in many cases. Apps presented a one-time consent screen, often framed as a choice between watching advertisements or sharing device network resources. Whether that constitutes informed consent is disputed.
What is the risk to me?
If a stranger’s traffic exits through your home IP address, any illegal activity associated with it points back to your connection. The software also continues running in the background until the app is deleted.
Is this illegal?
Residential proxy networks are not inherently illegal and have legitimate commercial uses. The concern is how consumer devices were enrolled into them and whether users understood what they agreed to.
What should I do with my TV?
Review your installed apps and remove anything unfamiliar or unused. Be wary of prompts offering ad-free access in exchange for sharing network resources, and keep your TV’s firmware updated.
Conclusion
The number that matters is 2,058 out of 6,038. This was not a few rogue developers slipping past review it was a practice common enough to appear in roughly a third of scanned apps across two major platforms, including one Samsung had chosen to promote.
Both manufacturers responded quickly once researchers published, and Samsung’s commitment to remove existing apps goes further than simply closing the door.
What neither has addressed is the software already sitting on televisions in people’s homes, waiting on a server-side switch. Delisting an app does not uninstall it and until that gap is closed, the ban is a fix for future customers rather than current ones.
