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They know what you watched last night

Recent deals involving the media conglomerate AT&T, the streaming device seller Roku, other firms have expanded the surveillance infrastructure that operates in the background of streaming services

The company floated in 2017 and its shares have since risen more than tenfold as it grew to reach 30.5 million US households 	Photo: Reuters
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Tiffany Hsu | NYT
A spate of streaming services are on their way from major tech and entertainment companies, promising viewers a trove of binge-worthy new shows and movies.

There’s something for advertisers, too: your personal data.

Recent deals involving the media conglomerate AT&T, the streaming device seller Roku, the advertising giant Publicis and other companies have expanded the surveillance infrastructure that operates in the background of streaming services. While viewers focus on the action onscreen, tracking technology quietly sops up information about their habits and uses it to target them with more relevant, traceable ads.

It is a “digital daisy chain of data-gathering on viewers,” according