Smart home devices have gained prominence in millions of homes across the globe but the privacy concerns around these apps fail to die. And new reports claim that by 2028 more than 780 million people will have adopted these smart home platforms which brings their privacy into question once again. The biggest culprits of spying on your data are some of the biggest names in the industry.
Smart Home Apps Spying On You
The report from Surfshark shares the worrying details and ranks the likes of Google and Amazon at the top of the data-hungry charts. The details of the test have also been shared by the company which is known for its VPN services.
The platform tested around 290 applications that were used by connected to over 400 smart home devices from different manufacturers which includes security cameras to smart vacuum cleaners. After going through the process, they observed that Amazon’s Alex was the biggest defaulter when it comes to sourcing data through these devices by collecting 28 out of the possible 32 data points. The data collected by Alexa range from location, details of the person/owner, and even details about their health.
The second on the list is Google with its Assistant. It has been found to gather 22 points out of the possible 32 data points. The main concern with Google’s linkage is that all your data can be linked back to individuals which leaves them vulnerable to future attacks.
When you see the names of Amazon and Google on the list, you start to wonder about their possible AI ambitions and how it could be intertwined with all your data. AI training involves a dataset that would most likely be sourced from the users, even if the companies say otherwise.
People already know the perils of using these smart home devices at home, and even allowing them to listen to all the conversations. If you are really keen on adopting the ecosystem, it is better to be safe and cautious about what and how your data is accessed or collected.
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