Samsung joins LG in banning smart TV apps that secretly turn televisions into residential proxy nodes

Samsung has become the second major smart TV maker to crack down on residential proxy software, banning apps that quietly route third-party internet traffic through users' home connections.

The move comes days after new research revealed that an Editor's Choice version of Pac-Man included dormant proxy code that could, when enabled, transform a television into a residential proxy exit node.

The company said it has already blocked new app submissions that include residential proxy functionality and is introducing stricter developer policies across its Tizen smart TV platform. It is also working to identify and remove apps already available in its store that contain residential proxy software development kits (SDKs).

The SDK was not active by default. Instead, it remained dormant until the app downloaded a remote configuration from the developer's servers.

If the configuration enabled the feature and the user accepted an on-screen prompt, the TV could begin forwarding third-party internet traffic through the household's broadband connection, even after the game itself had been closed.

Samsung acted after the Norwegian security firm Mnemonic published an in-depth investigation into how residential proxy networks end up on consumer smart TVs.

The researchers point out that the proxy software was only part of the story. They argued that the bigger problem lies in how many smart TV apps are built.

Rather than shipping all of their code through Samsung's review process, some apps act as lightweight shells that download most of their functionality from remote servers after installation. That means an app approved by Samsung may behave very differently once it is running in a user's living room.

LG has already started its own crackdown

Samsung's decision follows similar action by rival LG, which announced last month that it would suspend smart TV apps that turn televisions into residential proxy nodes.

That move came after separate research found the issue was even more widespread on LG's webOS platform than on Samsung's Tizen ecosystem.

Researchers scanned thousands of apps across both platforms and found residential proxy SDKs in roughly one-third of them. More than 42% of LG apps contained the software, compared with about 26.5% of Samsung apps.

The researchers said they found proxy functionality hidden inside seemingly harmless apps, including games, aquarium screensavers, clocks, and other utility software.

"We found it everywhere," the researchers noted.

Residential proxy services are not inherently malicious. Businesses use them for tasks such as ad verification, market research, and web data collection by routing requests through ordinary residential internet connections.

The same infrastructure, however, is also attractive to cybercriminals looking to disguise malicious traffic behind legitimate household IP addresses.

Recent enforcement actions have highlighted the risks.

Just weeks ago, Google and the FBI disrupted the NetNut residential proxy botnet, which had hijacked more than 2 million internet-connected devices, including smart TVs and streaming boxes.

Investigators said cybercriminals and state-backed groups used the network to mask their online activity behind legitimate residential IP addresses.

Earlier this year, authorities also dismantled another residential proxy service known as IPIDEA, underscoring a broader crackdown on networks built from compromised consumer devices.

With both Samsung and LG now moving to block residential proxy SDKs, the smart TV industry is beginning to respond to a practice that researchers say has remained largely invisible to consumers.