Samsung pulls smart TV apps hiding proxy code

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By NewSunSEO August 4, 2026

Samsung is cracking down on smart TV apps that embed residential proxy software, code that turns a household internet connection into a relay for outside traffic. The company said it has stopped accepting new app registrations that include this capability and is removing existing apps from its app store that contain it. The move follows research from Norwegian cybersecurity firm Mnemonic, which found proxy code tied to large commercial networks inside several Samsung TV apps, including a basic Pac-Man title that had been featured in Samsung’s Editor’s Choice section.

What Mnemonic found inside the apps

Residential proxy networks, sometimes called resproxies, route third-party web traffic through everyday consumer devices. From the perspective of any website receiving a request, the traffic appears to come from an ordinary home internet connection, complete with a residential IP address. Once an app on a smart TV activates this kind of code, the device can serve as an exit node, carrying traffic for paying customers even after the app is closed.

Mnemonic’s report focused on Samsung’s smart TV platform. The researchers examined apps that, on paper, looked simple. In practice, many were thin shells that loaded their actual behavior from external servers. That structure makes app store review largely ineffective: the code submitted for approval may not match what ultimately runs on a user’s television.

“What was reviewed is not necessarily what is running,” Mnemonic researcher Harrison Sand wrote.

To confirm the behavior, Sand rooted a Samsung TV and watched its network traffic in real time. He traced proxy activity inside the Pac-Man app back to Bright Data, a company that runs a large residential proxy network and sells access to scraped datasets. According to the research, the proxy function only switches on after a user accepts a consent prompt, and it keeps operating in the background until the app is deleted.

How big the problem might be

Some of the apps flagged by Mnemonic claim install counts in the hundreds of millions. That scale matters because residential proxy code can be flipped on across many devices with a single server-side change. Sand warned that a small code update on a web server could turn a large installed base of smart TVs into a coordinated traffic relay.

The traffic Mnemonic observed included patterns consistent with large-scale web scraping, including requests that appeared aimed at LinkedIn data and other sources commonly used to feed AI training datasets. Sand noted that his view covered only a small slice of overall activity, so the true volume is likely higher.

Why residential proxies are hard to police

Residential proxies are not illegal, and they have legitimate uses. Researchers and businesses use them to gather public web data, and people in countries with internet restrictions use them to reach blocked services. AI companies have also leaned on residential networks to collect training data at scale.

The same qualities that make these networks useful also make them attractive for abuse. Traffic routed through a smart TV looks like it comes from a normal household rather than a data center, which makes it harder for security systems to flag or block. The traffic is typically encrypted, which limits what any outside observer can see.

Samsung’s response

After being shown the findings, Samsung told the press it has already restricted new app registrations that include proxy functionality on its Smart TV platform. The company is also putting in place stricter developer policies that explicitly ban residential proxy SDKs, and it is working through its existing catalog to identify and remove apps that contain these components.

“We have already restricted new app registrations that incorporate such proxy functionalities on our Smart TV platform,” a Samsung spokesperson said. “We are currently implementing strict platform-wide developer policies explicitly banning residential proxy SDKs, and we are working to identify and remove all apps currently available in our store that contain these components.”

Samsung is not the only TV maker dealing with this

LG said last month that it would also ban apps containing residential proxy software, after reporting found roughly 42% of apps in its store were using similar technology. The shift across TV platforms suggests the issue is structural, tied to how smart TV app stores vet software rather than to any single vendor.

What users can do in the meantime

Samsung has not yet published a public list of every app being removed, so consumers do not have a simple way to check whether a specific title on their TV contains proxy code. A few practical steps reduce exposure while the cleanup is underway:

Review installed apps and delete any that you do not actively use, especially simple games or utilities that request network permissions without an obvious reason.
Watch for apps that ask for consent prompts about network use, bandwidth sharing, or background activity, and read those prompts carefully before accepting.
Keep TV firmware updated, since platform changes often ship first as system updates.
Check your router or ISP dashboard for unusual outbound traffic patterns if your TV is always on.

FAQ

What is a residential proxy network?

A residential proxy network routes internet traffic through consumer devices in homes, such as smart TVs, so that requests appear to come from ordinary household IP addresses instead of data centers. The operators of these networks pay device owners, or the apps installed on their devices, for the use of that bandwidth.

How did proxy code end up in Samsung TV apps?

According to research from Mnemonic, many of the affected apps are shells that load their real behavior from external servers. That means the code reviewed during the app store approval process can differ from what actually runs once the app is live on a TV.

Is Samsung removing every app that uses proxy code?

Samsung said it is implementing strict platform-wide developer policies that ban residential proxy SDKs and is identifying and removing apps in its store that contain these components. The company has not published a full list of affected apps.