4 Smart Device Owners Should Think Twice Before Buying

These days, there are many types of smart technology you can add to your home. From smart home assistants like Google Home to smart thermostats and even smart leak detectors, the variety of truly useful smart home technology available to you is vast. On the other hand, however, there are also many less good smart home technologies.

Sometimes these devices can simply be a bad purchasing decision because of the price/features ratio and what they actually offer you, and other times the reason you should think twice before purchasing certain smart home technologies comes down to overall privacy and security. Your home is your safe haven, after all, and you want to be sure you don’t accidentally open it up to any type of cyberattacks, especially as the world of AI continues to expand and we see things like security researchers taking over a smart home with a single Google Calendar invite.

Smart locks are one of the major pieces of smart home technology that have become very popular in recent years. There are many options from brands like Wyse, Dufy and more. However, one big issue you need to consider with this type of smart home technology is that smart home locks may not be suitable for everyone.

While they can be exceptionally convenient and many feature 128-bit encryption – useful for helping to mitigate data leaks and privacy concerns – there are other things to keep in mind. For starters, most of the best smart lock brands require some sort of app to set them up, and that means having a password and username that is both safe and secure, as well as easy to remember when needed. Because we’re talking about something that controls who can enter your home, you’ll want to make sure to avoid falling into dangerous password habits when setting up.

You also need to know how long the lock manufacturer plans to support the device itself and whether it can actually receive updates. Not being able to receive updates could leave your smart lock open to any discovered exploits, as the manufacturer will have no way to patch these vulnerabilities. As with anything related to home security, be sure to compare the different options together and look for the most secure option possible within your budget.

Robot vacuums can be a huge practical improvement to help keep your home clean, but according to reports, they can also be a privacy and security nightmare. An amateur coder was able to reverse engineer his DJI Romo’s communication protocols to control his vacuum manually using a game controller, but he soon discovered that his homemade app was actually capable of connecting to DJI’s servers and around 7,000 robot vacuums connected to the service.

We’ve also seen previous reports that LG’s SmartThinQ devices suffered from similar exploitation, allowing bad actors to take unauthorized control of smart vacuums and other smart home technology, giving them insight into the homes of real people using these products. In the case of the amateur coder, reports indicate that he was even able to go so far as to identify which robot belonged to a specific reporter, and then was able to produce an accurate map of the house floor plan using that access alone.

While these types of exploits are likely high priority for fixes from manufacturers, the fact that they exist helps highlight the potential danger of using smart home technology like robot vacuums. That’s why you should always do your research and compare reviews to find the best robot vacuums, as well as check out reports on their privacy and security features before purchasing one.

There are many smart TVs out there and many reasons to avoid some of them, including quality, viewing angles, and user privacy and security. One of the reasons smart TVs have become so prevalent is the added convenience they bring, putting your favorite streaming apps right on the TV itself. However, many of these devices also have potential downsides in the form of privacy-affecting settings and features, such as personalized advertising, which essentially monitors how you use your TV to help provide advertisers with information they can use to better target you with specific ads. This can make it seem like your TV is spying on you, and, in a way, it is.

Although some people recommend not connecting your TV to the Internet at all – to avoid privacy-related issues, such as personalized ads – this isn’t really helpful if you want to use the TV’s built-in smart features. Instead, you should stick to brands you trust, be sure to research what kind of privacy settings those brands offer, and make any changes you want. For example, if you want to turn off personalized advertising on a Roku TV, you can always change these privacy settings to ensure that your data is more private and protected. Smart TVs can serve as gateways to a wider range of smart devices in your home. So it’s always a good idea to check that you’re taking the right steps to protect yourself and your security online.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) grows, everyday home technologies are becoming smarter and more connected. While you can use smart TVs and other smart home technology without having to spend anything beyond the cost of the hardware, others are locked into subscriptions. Because of this additional cost, we recommend doing your research before purchasing smart home devices that come with subscriptions.

There are caveats to this, however, as subscriptions can potentially bring benefits, like discounts and even extended support for the device. It’s important to look at the device you’re considering purchasing and then decide whether or not the subscription is worth it given the benefits it brings. Subscription-free devices, on the other hand, have the added benefit of not having to worry about sneaky fees, especially since subscription prices can vary and increase over the years.