A number of smartphone apps can monitor the device’s microphone to detect audio signals embedded in TV advertising. The US Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to a dozen app developers who have included such software in existing apps. Known as SilverPush, the software is capable of eavesdropping on television audio and identifying the content. 

The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the US government with a mandate of protecting consumers. In their letter to the app developers in question, they note that SilverPush uses a “Unique Audio Beacon technology that enables mobile applications to listen for unique codes embedded into television audio signals in order to determine what television shows or advertisements are playing on a nearby television.” The functionality runs silently in the background, even when the application in question isn’t in use. As a consequence, the app could monitor and log viewing content simply because the user’s smartphone was adjacent to their television. 

According to the SilverPush website, “over 2 million minutes of broadcast TV video is fingerprinted and analyzed by SilverPush platform every day.” They also claim to track television across 300 channels and to identify television content within 10 milliseconds, tracking brands, ad agencies, actors, products, songs and apparently moods (editor’s note: not sure what that one means). 

The SilverPush code already exists within apps available in the Google Play Store. While the SilverPush service is not yet operational in the US the apps already contain this piece of software and the capability to monitor users. The letter warns the app developers to notify their customers that their app may allow third party monitoring of their television viewing habits. Such monitoring activity across two different devices combined with a failure to warn customers could violate customer protection laws.