1. TV apps are turning devices into residential‑proxy “botnets”
“Sharing a slice of your internet in a privacy‑preserving way in exchange for something of value, seems fair, no?” – cognitiveinline
“No residential last‑mile broadband ISP … Grey‑market residential proxy service providers are one of the most common methods of implementing bot spam…” – walrus01
2. Informed consent and fair compensation are required
“Only if the app provides 1. prominently‑displayed, informed consent, 2. an option to opt‑out without losing app functionality, or 3. joining the botnet provides some actual benefit to the user, besides just money to the developer.” – ryandrake
3. The problem isn’t limited to Android – it affects WebOS, Tizen, Roku, etc.
“The platforms in question here are webOS and Tizen, neither of which are Android or use the Google Play Store.” – Marsymars
“LG webOS is not Android though, it’s from the old Palm/HP devices of the early 2010s.” – ranger_danger
4. Users are responding with technical mitigations
“Open up the back and disconnect the wifi antenna.” – drnick1
“You can intercept normal DNS with iptables rules.” – CyberDildonics
“If you don’t want to share your internet with others, that is your choice, but please don’t make it seem like you are only sharing the internet with criminals.” – charcircuit