Forum Discussion

AhmedE's avatar
AhmedE
Binge Watcher
2 years ago

Why must I now grant permission for this?

I tend to keep a flash drive plugged into my TV's USB port. I have a collection of videos that I have collected from a variety of online sources over the years. When I want to watch some of them, I convert them into Quicktime .MOV files, place them on a flash drive, and watch them on my TV via Roku Media Player.

Obviously each time I need to change the videos on the flash drive, I have unplug it, then plug it back in when ready. Lately every time I plug in the flash drive I get a permission dialog asking me if I want or don't want to allow the channels on the TV to access the flash drive.

Why has this suddenly become necessary? It wasn't like this before and I could simply plug in the flash drive without confirming permissions. To me, this dialog is redundant and pointless. I would appreciate it if permission could be granted permanently or the necessity for it simply eliminated outright.

  • Hpierson's avatar
    Hpierson
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago

    Content on your flash drive will now be shared with other apps you watch on Roku and will tell them if what you watch or listen to if music.  This could be your own content, or it could be something pirated off the internet.

    Personally, I feel no one should know what I plugged into the USB port, and Roku has overstepped their authority collecting information on what I watch or listen to.  I don't understand why there is no pushback at how all our buying habits, viewing/listening habits, and any other information that is collected about us while the data collected on you is traded like a commodity without your consent. 

    • renojim's avatar
      renojim
      Community Streaming Expert
      2 years ago

      Hpierson, none of that conspiracy nonsense is true.  Absolutely nothing has changed with regards to accessing a USB drive.  Apps have always had access to the USB drive.  Roku has decided to make that clear after all these years probably to make the lawyers happy.  If you weren't worried about it before, there's no reason to be worried about it now.

      AhmedE, obviously Roku implemented this new warning poorly, but for things they're doing poorly these days this pales in comparison.