85: Why I've Thrown Away All My Smart Devices (You Should Do The Same)

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I've been making my house “dumb” again, and this episode is about why.

After bringing back an old television, building a physical DVD collection, and cutting off appliances that want an internet connection, I started looking more closely at what "smart home" actually means for your privacy.

In a 2017 FTC (Federal Trade Commission) case, Vizio's software was found to have tracked second-by-second viewing across roughly 11 million televisions. The tracking pulled information from cable boxes, external streaming devices, DVD players, and over-the-air broadcasts.

Then there's the Amazon case, where children's voice recordings were kept indefinitely, and thousands of employees reportedly had access to Alexa users' recordings without a business need.

Convenience is how nearly all of this gets through the front door. Preheating an oven from an app sounds harmless until you ask what you're trading for it, and how many points of failure you've added to your household.

People are outraged about Flock cameras on the pole, then walk past a doorbell camera and a voice assistant to get to the couch.

That disconnect is the whole conversation.

You’ll Learn:

[0:00] Introduction

[3:15] Technology stopped serving us and started learning about us

[6:32] The Vizio case and second-by-second viewing data