Beware, as now, just like mobile phones, air fryers can also secretly listen to personal family conversations!
Yes, you heard it right, a recent report from the consumer group Which? revealed that some devices like air fryers, smartwatches and smart TV’s have been collecting personal data from their owners without their knowledge.
As per Sky News, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said “People feel their household products "collect too much information about them and they feel powerless to control how their information is used and shared".
Considering this, the watchdog is set to issue new instructions on how to ensure their products follow data protection laws.
This guidance will help them ensure their devices do not violate privacy regulations.
As per Which? three air fryers from Chinese brands Xiaomi, Tencent and Aigostar, tried to record audio on their owners’ phones, but there was no clear explanation given for why they were doing this.
Stephen Almond, executive director of regulatory risk at the ICO, told Sky News, "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.”
He added, “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."
Reports also revealed that in many cases, the manual of a product shows how much personal data the manufacturer collects from the user.
The typical privacy policy that consumers presented is about 8,000 words in length, which would take roughly 35 minutes and to avoid this, people often sign it without reading.
