Find out what these devices know about you -- and what you can do about it
It's no surprise to learn your smartphone could be listening to you or that your favorite web browser tracks your activity -- but you'd never suspect a kitchen appliance to be guilty of cybersnooping, including recording audio on your smartphone.
While it may sound like a tasteless joke (pun intended), watchdogs in the United States and United Kingdom are warning about a very popular household machine and other appliances that are increasingly Wi-Fi enabled and app controlled. The tech advancements may be on the cutting edge, but they also give your appliances the opportunity to spy on you and your household. Read on to find out which kitchen items put your privacy at risk.
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So which kitchen appliance might be spying on you?
That reliable ol' air fryer you use to cook chicken fingers for the kids or crisp up some Brussels sprouts may know more about you than what you like to eat. Given that roughly two-thirds of homes own at least one air fryer, according to Market.us News, this is potentially a big deal.
Research by Which, the largest consumer advocacy body in the U.K., uncovered that some Chinese-made air fryers are the worst culprits when it comes to privacy risks. It specifically called out the brands Aigostar and Xiaomi (pronounced "Shau-Me"), both of which sell products that are available in the United States.
Part of what makes the air fryers so risky is that you must download an accompanying app, which allows it to know customers' precise locations. Worse, "products wanted permission to record audio on the user's phone, for no specified reason," wrote Which in a November 2024 blog post.
The apps for the brands also connect to trackers from Facebook, Pangle (the ad network of TikTok for Business) and Chinese tech giant Tencent (depending on the your location) and ask for your gender and date of birth when setting up an account. While the information is optional, can you think of any reason your air fryer needs to know your age or your gender?
Well, according to the Which blog post, "the Aigostar and Xiaomi fryers both sent people's personal data to servers in China, although this was flagged in the privacy notice." In other words, consumers may be opting in with consent. That's just one more reason why it's important to read service agreements and disclosures -- so you better understand what info an app collects, along with when, where and with whom it shares this data.
In some cases, it makes complete sense for a device or app to seek permission for your info. Take, for instance, Google Maps' request for your location; it needs that info so when you type "coffee shop," it doesn't show you one in Montreal when you live in Phoenix. Sharing your location with a smart TV also makes logical sense: It helps your device dish up local streaming TV content (or content that has the rights to be viewed in your area). Similarly, you may need to grant permission for an app to use your smartphone's microphone, which allows you to speak instructions instead of typing.
All of those are logical.
But why would an air-fryer app need to see what other apps you have on your phone? The answer: It doesn't.
What other appliances might be spying on you?
Air fryers aren't the only high-tech items in your home (or on your person) you need to be wary of -- and it's not just Chinese manufacturers that are doing the spying. A few other common culprits, as reported by Which, include:
What is the government doing about it?
Aigostar and Xiaomi aren't the only brands that collect and send user data to interested parties, which has watchdog groups on both sides of the pond seeking more transparency and limitations on data collection. The U.K.'s Information Commissioner's Office, which reports to Parliament, said it's working to establish new data-collection guidelines in the spring of 2025.
Back here at home, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a government agency that implements and enforces federal consumer laws, is seeking a related proposal. The CFPB's proposed rule, outlined in a Dec. 3, 2024, press release, seeks to "protect Americans from crime and illegal foreign surveillance." Rather than pass a new law, the CFPB is looking to patch a loophole in the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act consumer privacy law, from which data brokers are currently exempt.
"By selling our most sensitive personal data without our knowledge or consent, data brokers can profit by enabling scamming, stalking and spying," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the same press release. "The CFPB's proposed rule will curtail these practices that threaten our personal safety and undermine America's national security."
How can you protect yourself from spying appliances?
The answer isn't to avoid digital devices entirely. Sure, that's an option, but it's not one most people would take in 2025. Instead, there are some steps you can take to reduce the odds of oversharing your data.
Be selective about manufacturers
Some tech companies tend to protect user data more than others. Apple, for example, is often credited with being one of the best because of a strict "walled garden" App Store, more on-device processing (rather than only uploading to the cloud), transparency and user control options, and the ability to download and delete data.
Read about what you're sharing
Many of us don't read the "T&Cs" (terms and conditions), nor does the legalese make it easy to understand what we're signing off on. But opt out whenever you can, even if there may be a limit to some functionality. The same goes with "cookie" permissions on a web browser: Always opt for the "essential" ones and nothing more.
Check permissions
On both iOS and Android, review permission requests even before downloading an app -- and check what each app has access to in your settings and limit or deny access. iOS also gives you the option to ask an app not to track you when you install it, and it lets you prevent the app from knowing where you were online before you opened the app (so it can't target ads to you). Androids don't offer this.
Mute a speaker and delete recordings
On an Amazon Echo or Google Nest smart speaker/display, mute the microphone by pressing a button on the top or back of the device. On an Apple HomePod, you can ask Siri to mute the speaker (or use the app to disable it). It somewhat nullifies the point of a "hands-free" personal assistant, but it is an option. Smart speakers should also give you the option to delete stored voice recordings, used to train the AI and give you better performance.
Turn off ACR on your smart TV
ACR stands for "automatic content recognition," a technology that collects data on what you watch on your smart TV. On most TVs, you can turn off this snooping, but how you go about it will vary based on your TV make and model. In most cases, you will start with the Settings option. Check your user guide. Also look for guidance on how to delete information your television has already saved.
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