Your TV can see through walls (2025)
maurycyz.com
maurycyz.com
Oh well, there have always been ways to snoop on someone like that. Back in the day it was CRTs emitting measurable waves through the neighborhood, with some papers even going as far as restoring the displayed image through a wall. Nowadays it's fiber and WiFi, and those seem to be much easier to work with even. Plus everyone carries a device that is tracked by their mobile provider's cell network. shrug
Fun fact, it was invented by Leon Theremin. The inventor of the Theremin.
the words you use matter.
Electromagnetic radiation is light, and light is electromagnetic radiation.
Here's what Theremin invented: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
> Apparently happy with ‘the thing’, Beria called on Theremin’s services again and he was enlisted for further eavesdropping operations. In 1947 or earlier, when Theremin probably served in the Kuchino sharashka outside Moscow, he was called upon to create another device for wireless surveillance, but this time it should operate fully remotely without any device planted at the target site. The project received the code name buran (snowstorm). To solve this difficult task, Theremin paid attention to the resonators already present in a building, such as windows. A conversation in a room may cause window panes to vibrate slightly, and Theremin devised a method to detect these vibrations from a distance, using an infrared beam directed at the window pane, and then to interpret them and convert them to discernible speech (Glinsky, 2005, p.261).
>
> The buran was able to detect speech from as far away as 500 metres, making detection very difficult. Interception would have to disrupt the infrared beam and jamming would require optical overpowering. Both were unlikely. However, it could be used only when weather permitted and was not effective in rain, fog or smog (Glinsky, 2005, p.261). Buran is often considered a predecessor of the laser microphone, although it employed an infrared beam rather than laser.
Radio waves are light. By definition, they are optical wavelengths.
For example, the company I work for manufactures DUV optics for the semiconductor industry and IR optics for the defense industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optics "Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_wave "Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 GHz and wavelengths greater than 1 mm"
I see no problem with using the term 'optical wavelength' to distinguish between a wavelength of ~1 micrometer and 'radio waves' at ~1 meter.
> The study of optics extends to other forms of electromagnetic radiation, including radio waves, microwaves, and X-rays.
I have no problem with this usage if the distinction helps understanding, but we seem to be discussing terms with potentially conflicting definitions without defining them: laser, light, radio, optics. All of these can reasonably apply to MHz radiation!
No one disputes that 'optics' can refer to more than visible light. But, in the context of a discussion about lasers and 1950's radio devices operating at VHF, we can still use terms like 'optical wavelength', 'radio wave', 'light', etc to distinguish the phenomena.
Language is a two-way street. Words are imprecise tools for people who want to communicate together, even in engineering and physics. Being pedantic without a deeper point to make isn't a useful contribution.
> Yes, he invented the technique of monitoring audio through light. How was I wrong there?
> These radio waves have a wavelength of about a meter, which is about 6 orders of magnitude longer than an optical wavelength.
> The point was light being used for audio, not specifically laser as a light source.
> You seem to keep responding to multiple people defend your point, but he used 1320 MHz in the thing which is not light.
These comments disagree on important definitions. I don't think it's pedantic to point this out.
There are three approximate frequency bands being discussed. The bands are separated by a factor of about 1 million. The width of each band is a factor of 3-8.
Human voice audio - 500 Hz to 4 kHz (the modulating signal)
VHF-UHF radio - 330 MHz and 1320 MHz
"Light" - 300 to 800 THz
This restriction to the visible is what I'm pointing out. (Note that the first person to mention the word "visible" was you!)
ClikeX clearly included radio waves in their intent, and that is an accepted definition! It's the definition I use in practice as an optical engineer.
ClikeX originally claimed that the USSR had lasers in 1945 (untrue) and that Leon Theremin invented the detection of sound vibrations or audio reproduction of via light (also untrue).
The confusion here is between the two different eavesdropping systems developed by Theremin: The Buran eavesdropping system (which used likely-near infrared on windowpanes) and "The Thing" (which used VHF-UHF radio on a custom device).
Your repeated insistence on the unrelated point that "light" and "radio" are technically both electromagnetic waves isn't clarifying anything.
> If you actually have any new information about the wavelengths Leon Theremin was using, please share it.
I'm quite confident it was an optical wavelength! ;)
> ClikeX originally claimed that the USSR had lasers in 1945 (untrue) and that Leon Theremin invented the detection of sound vibrations or audio reproduction of via light (also untrue).
> The confusion here is between the two different eavesdropping systems developed by Theremin: The Buran eavesdropping system (which used likely-near infrared on windowpanes) and "The Thing" (which used VHF-UHF radio on a custom device).
Great summary!
> Your repeated insistence on the unrelated point that "light" and "radio" are technically both electromagnetic waves isn't clarifying anything.
I hope this has helped clarify that, of the terms used here, only "radio" is clearly distinct, since "light" and "electromagnetic waves" are often used interchangeably.
There may also be unusual applications of this, like the traffic counting mentioned by another commenter.
(For anyone who needs hardening against things like this, you need a SCIF.)
It's been some time since I've thought about Van Eck phreaking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Eck_phreaking
they track BUTTERFLIES from Canada to Mexico by attaching tiny trackers with eyelash glue
* https://celltracktech.com/products/ctt-blumorpho
smaller than a tic-tac candy (about two match-heads)
* https://cellular-tracking-technologies.github.io/ctt_documen...
[1] "Traffic Flow Estimation using LTE Radio Frequency Counters and Machine Learning", https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.09143
https://www.amazon.de/Silence-Wire-Passive-Reconnaissance-In...
it's from 2005. you can almost certainly find it in libraries or used.
it's also from 2005 -- some of the basics are still valid but it's dated.
This problem is solved via two ways (or both at once):
- Pihole
- Unplug the TV from ethernet and disable wifi
All my TVs display no ads because they are jailed.
This likely requires opening the case and physically disabling (hence knowing what you are doing). Or the TV will find other devices to transmit the data. Not an easy measure for everyone.
But it isn't at all like straight UHF/VHF radio intereference spectra analysis or whatever we want to call it.
Wifi, Cell network bands, bluetooth and hard fiber lines are all far more exploitable than "regular" RF . A police squad car equipped with the RF package (which convienetly comes from defense contractors) can grid out your home and hotspot people, devices, etc. This is only possible due to exploits/abusing these standards and cooperation w/ device/tech vendors.
Is this a problem? Eh, not for me where I live. Is it illegal? I am not versed enough to know how procedural/ y the books this is. But it is odd that a passing police vehicle potentially has unmarshalled/warrentless seach running 24/7.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IFVTcM28KA (Gamers Nexus findings)
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFx1DyAjxYc (LMGClips summary)
Philips Hue also has it built in to their newer lights, where they measure the Zigbee signals. They call it MotionAware[2]. Basically anything with an antenna and a bit of compute is able to do this now.
[1] IEEE 802.11bf-2025 [2] https://www.philips-hue.com/en-hk/support/article/motionawar...
~~Comcast~~ Xfinity actually advertises it on the radio as a feature.
A bad actor who wants to act on that information can just wait near your house on a workday morning and watch you leave, likely not to return for the better part of the day. No techno-voodoo required.
This makes it more remote and subtle, but it’s not a new threat.
What is new, I admit, is they could retroactively know if you’re home on a date before they became interested in you, if they’re surveilling and recording everyone.
Those mics can be quite sensitive.
I feel like by disabling ads in most devices, I'm also taking away the best source of information on what bad actors (here ad companies) managed to exfiltrate about me.
If there only was a way to sell ad space about myself and learn from it what others know.
Here it is:
---
Tapping <first name last name> at the top of Settings opens the Samsung account notice, and the Terms of Service show as not accepted. I'm leaving them unaccepted and not continuing.
1. Security and privacy
Controls and alerts: left Microphone access on, because permissions will be set individually per app.
More privacy settings:
Send diagnostic data
Set to Off
Samsung
Improve personalized ads based on data from this phone: you have to go to the Samsung account settings.
Receive news and special offers on this phone: same
Customization Service for your phone: same
Going to Accounts and backup > Samsung Cloud > Data backed up: there is no data being backed up to Samsung.
Going to Samsung Cloud shows that Bluetooth, Calendar, Contacts and Wi-Fi are synced.
Google personalization service: set to Off
Permission manager:
Switched to Ask every time:
- Chrome
- Maps
- Meet
- Facebook
- Google
- Messages
- Speech Recognition & Synthesis from Google
- Samsung Keyboard
- TikTok
Still set to "Allowed only while in use": Camera and WhatsAppActivity controls
Web & App Activity: turned off, but I did not delete the history
Timeline (Location History): was already off since January 1, 2025
YouTube History: left on
Personalized ads:
- My Ad Center is turned off
- Partner ads settings, Visit My Ad Center, Ads you can control, Get started,
Cancel
Everything is disabled, as expected after turning off the Google personalization service2. Ads
Ads privacy
Ad topics: 0
App-suggested ads: 0
Ad measurement: - Allow ad measurement: set to Off - Reset measurement data: reset
Reset advertising ID: confirmed, reset
Delete advertising ID: deleted
Usage & diagnostics: disabled
3. Remote management
After I tapped it, it said "Installing applications" After a few minutes, at the second login, I got in and it showed me a Smart Tutor screen. I went to Apps, found it and uninstalled it. It would have allowed the phone to be managed remotely by customer support, I don't know which one.
Settings & privacy
Settings, Apps and websites, turned off "Apps, websites and games"
Business integrations
Activity log, Apps and websites off Facebook, Posts from apps and websites: it was empty. Your apps: it was empty.
The danger with these technologies is not when they allow to precise track you once your general vicinity is known, that was always possible by putting some goons after you. General mass surveillance that is constantly tagged is the problem, flock, PRISM and the other stuffs.
Long story short, barely anyone got anywhere. Because simply doing an ATM transaction to get the cash already triggered the signal where they were. Not to mention the amount of government owned cameras. As well as being in proximity of anyone still online.
Complete anonymity is virtually impossible, depending on the country.
The show is set up so that if the contestants do anything on a given list (like access ATMs, pay for something with a known card, walking past cctv cameras etc) then the camera crew would notify the hunters. Thats how they got that intel so that they wouldnt need to use actual methods.
I dont think you can use that show as an actual example of somebody on the run. Its so far away from reality and set up to be interesting to the viewer, its just not realistic at all.
The amount of camera's in and around shopping areas is staggering. And the requirement to have a smartphone on hand is increasing every day, at least in the Netherlands.
In the parent case the supposed illegal activity is associated with a device (possibly the location) and they are trying to find the identity of the person associated.
And three passports for three different identities.
The problem with mass surveillance is that even if you are aware you are actively transmitting and your data is still caught in the dragnet for example with camera doorbells and other surveillance apparatus like flock, or visiting a site with facebook ad trackers. You transmit either way by being, if you travel in public with phone or without a phone, both is an identifying datapoint.
https://github.com/deletexiumu/wifi-densepose " SCAM ALERT: Technical audit reveals this project is a non-functional AI-generated facade with fake CSI data, no trained models, and suspected star inflation"