We live in a world that is electronically connected. There’s no getting around that fact, and we have become accustomed to using electronic devices to answer our questions and govern our lives in many ways.
Some of the devices that we may use regularly include Google, Siri, and Amazon Alexa. We accept it because they can answer our questions, operate our smart devices, and even play us our favorite music when we ask.
The fact of the matter is, however, there are many tech companies out there and some of them may be listening in on our conversations. They do so in order to gather data for various reasons, and this includes a strange device that you may not have ever considered capable of doing this.
According to a consumer advice company, there was evidence of ‘excessive smart device surveillance’ taking place by many devices in our homes. This includes air fryers, some of which ‘demanded’ permission on our mobile apps to listen in on what we are saying.
According to the study, three air fryers, all of which were made by Chinese brands Xiaomi, Tencent, and Aigostar wanted permission to record audio on our phones. There was no specific reason given as to why they needed to record audio, but both Aigostar and Xiaomi fryers were flagged as sending personal data to China.
The app for the Xiaomi fryer was also linked to Facebook, as well as an ad network that is associated with TikTok. In some locations, it could connect to the Chinese tech giant Tencent.
There was also additional information requested by some of the air fryers, including the date of birth and the gender of the owner. It was optional whether you would provide this information or not, but all of them wanted to know the location of the customer.
Some of the companies said that they don’t have recording capacity, stating directly that they ‘do not collect audio data from our devices.’
They claim that the only reason they have those permissions is for Wi-Fi setup so that they can enable device connectivity. They then say that users can decline this permission.
Aigostar said: “While some general information is listed in our privacy policy, we are actively streamlining our data practices to ensure we only request necessary information.
“We respect user control over their data. Aigostar allows users to delete their accounts at any time, and upon account deletion, all associated data is permanently removed from our servers. Customers can find more information about our privacy policies [here].
“Our Privacy Policy outlines all data practices. Users are fully informed of permissions during app setup and can choose to accept or decline. Aigostar remains committed to upholding the highest standards of privacy and data protection.”
The executive director of regulatory risk at the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Stephen Almond weighed in on this with a warning. He said: “Ultimately, what we’re seeing is actually consumers paying twice. Paying first for the product that they’re buying, but then second, paying with their data.
“And that data is being used potentially for targeted advertising, also gathering more information about how the market is developing in this sort of area. So it’s really important if these devices are to be used with trust by people, that the industry comes clean around how people’s information is being used.”
