Vizio SmartCast (Inscape)
VIZIO Inc. · Smart TV
Staff Reviewed — a person at DeSpy reviewed this rating.
Index
Captured second-by-second viewing data from 11 million-plus TVs and sold demographically enriched profiles, leading to a landmark 2017 FTC/NJ settlement; its Inscape division still licenses data via iSpot.tv.
Why this rating
Vizio's Inscape division captured second-by-second viewing data from over 11 million TVs and sold demographically enriched profiles, resulting in a landmark 2017 FTC/NJ settlement and a separate ~$17 million class-action settlement, with the data business later resuming via iSpot.tv.
What it is
- Requires a cloud account
- Works offline
- Manufacturer
- VIZIO Inc.
- Category
- Smart TV
- Model years
- 2014-present
- Market status
- Current
- Companion app
- SmartCast
The evidence 9
Independent research, regulatory action, lawsuits and journalism about how this device handles personal data — the "what actually happens" axis. Each links to its source.
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Landmark 2017 FTC/NJ settlement in which Vizio paid $2.2 million for covertly collecting and selling second-by-second viewing data from over 11 million smart TVs.
Why it matters here: Landmark FTC/NJ settlement is specifically about Vizio's SmartCast/Inscape ACR data collection.
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Vizio agreed to a roughly $17 million class-action settlement over its ACR-based tracking practices, separate from the FTC action.
Why it matters here: Separate $17M class-action settlement against Vizio over the same ACR practices.
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Reporting on the 2017 Vizio FTC settlement over unauthorized collection and resale of TV viewing data.
Why it matters here: TechCrunch coverage of the Vizio FTC settlement.
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PBS coverage detailing how Vizio tracked and sold viewing data from over 11 million TVs without adequate consumer consent.
Why it matters here: PBS coverage of the Vizio data-selling scandal.
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Reports that Vizio's Inscape data-licensing business resumed and expanded its viewership-data partnership with iSpot.tv after the FTC settlement.
Why it matters here: Reports Vizio's Inscape data business resumed and expanded with iSpot.tv after the settlement.
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Legal analysis of the compliance lessons other smart-device makers should draw from the Vizio FTC settlement.
Why it matters here: Legal analysis of compliance lessons from the Vizio case.
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TIME coverage of the Vizio FTC settlement and its implications for smart-TV privacy broadly.
Why it matters here: TIME coverage of the Vizio settlement's broader implications.
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Press release confirming an extended data-licensing agreement between Vizio's Inscape unit and measurement firm 605 (Inscape/605).
Why it matters here: Confirms extended Inscape/605 data-licensing partnership.
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Inscape's own marketing site describing its automatic content recognition data-licensing business built on Vizio TV viewership.
Why it matters here: Inscape's own site describes the ACR data business built on Vizio TVs.
Where your data goes
Third parties this device's data has flowed to, and on what basis. An ended tag means the flow has verifiably stopped — it stays listed for the record.
- Inscape / 605
- iSpot.tv
- LiveRamp
- Experian
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Descriptive, cited, not legal advice; ratings are versioned and corrections create a new version. Data from the IoT Info Grabber DB research project, CC BY-SA 4.0.