The cybersecurity of our household appliances, those that are basically connected to the Internet, has been in question for years. From speakers to refrigerators or ovens. And yet, we continue to see how our privacy is violated. for household appliances. And one of them is the household vacuum cleaner.as already anticipated in 2022.
It all started when Amazon announced that it was planning to buy iRobot, the makers of Roomba that year. Which didn’t bode well for privacy: these high-end vacuum cleaners They make maps of our home to improve its cleanlinessThey also have cameras and, by being connected to the network, they share information and images.
What is this data used for? Among other options to improve certain functions, but It is also shared with third parties: If we have pets, it suggests food advertising, if we have small children, books or toys, and so on.
And this is essential, since each Amazon purchases are analyzed and tracked to personalize our profile. The company can even anticipate what you might like. One example of this is what happened with Ring, the company that makes home video cameras and security systems. When Amazon bought it in 2018, it gained access to millions of customers’ security camera footage. And it shares it.
To disable the invasive features of the Roomba, you have to go to the application, then to Menu, Account > Privacy > Mapping Features and select the device. There we can select disable Mapping Functions to the left.
Another option is to reset to factory settings to erase. Also It is possible to delete the account: this step will disconnect your Roomba from the appThe robot will continue to connect to the Wi-Fi network to clean and return to the base, but it will not send the collected information.Other options include leaving the App Beta program, disabling Alexa integration, limiting geolocation, and revoking permissions unrelated to cleaning.