RNG, thanks but you've lost me.
How does the tv listen in on telephone conversations, I assume tracking data?
Granted Comcast provides it all, including my home phone number which I assume
is VOIP.
I know that even with a "private window" cable company tracks every website I visit, but never knew my phone
was at risk. How does that work? Is this an issue also for Zoom?
Apparently the microphone in the "smart" TV, the same one that listens for voice commands, is actually listening all the time. It has nothing to do with your phone, unless you're talking on your phone within earshot of the TV.
The same can be said with the Google/Amazon/Apple "smart" devices that are also voice activated. Google and Amazon have both had security issues with their approach, but so far, Apple has not.
In order to get any sense of confidence in the Amazon reviews, you'll need to read through enough of them to get an overall impression of what's in them. The fake reviews are pretty easy to spot. They're usually short, one or two liners, usually 5-star, designed to swamp out the negative one and two-star reviews. On the other hand, the negative reviews usually revolve around one or more problems with the device, and some reviewers go into excruciating details in a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction manner that shows their validity. Amazon has also started flagging reviews written by people that actually purchased the product, a further clue that the review is genuine.
One more shopping tip. B&H Photo Video has a payment program through Synchrony Bank called PayBoo. You sign up with the bank through B&H for the card, and use it for payment. When you do, they wave the sales tax. For big ticket items like TVs, you end up saving a substantial sum of money. As nice as that is, unlike some other east coast discount vendors I could name, B&H indicates right on their website if the item you're interested in is in stock, and most of their items ship via free expedited shipping. At least both the laptops, and now the new computer monitor I've purchased through them, did.
As far as tracking your web use goes, if you're worried about that kind of thing, you could use Tor Browser, a modified version of Firefox that uses the Tor network to defeat tracking attempts. Sort of like a VPN, but without the fuss or extra expense.