From the article:
The consumer champion Which? found companies appear to be gathering far more data than is needed for products to function. This includes smart TVs that ask for users’ viewing habits and a smart washing machine that requires people’s date of birth. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: “Consumers have already paid for smart products, in some cases thousands of pounds, so it is excessive that they have to continue to ‘pay’ with their personal information.”
A recognizable privacy rating should be developed and mandatory at least for hardware products.
I honestly like this idea. The DuckDuckGo mobile browser already has this for websites, but I feel like its not really that meaningful and way too generic and forgiving. Also it’s chromium-based
It amazes me that anyone will fill in their actual date of birth on an online system outside of a government or bank system. Just put a fake one in, no one is going to check! Jeez.
I use this for just about every non-official (e.g. govmt or banking) account I set up.
Why would anyone connect an appliance to the internet?
Some people see a product described as ‘smart’ and their common sense immediately leaves their body.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind getting a notification when my washer is done. If I’m doing too many things at once, I can forget that I had laundry going and it ends up sitting there until it gets musty and needs a re-wash.
That said, I did disconnect my smart tv from the internet when I found out it was sending data, including captured ambient audio, to the tv manufacturer. I just use an apple tv. I know that I’m still populating data for each of my streaming services, but the tv manufacturer has no need for my watching habits, much less people talking in my living room.
The one that I’ve never figured out was the refrigerator that connects to twitter.
I had the same thought when the salesman tried to convince me to buy a smart washer and dryer. Why do I need to be able to control them with my smartphone? Someone would still need to be present to load/empty them so then they can also turn it on.
I’m so glad to have Home Assistant and ESPHome as an alternative to these evil devices.
