It's a Brave New World, with the "Internet of Things." Smart products
are just beginning, and they're infringing on your privacy in ways you
may not understand. For example, Roomba vacuums are spying in your home
-- they collect data like your floor plan, and sell it back to
interested companies, like parent iRobot. Sleep Number Mattresses do the
same, recording your respiration and heart rates while you sleep.
I'm a degree engineer. I don't own a roomba, I don't own an Alexa. I
dumped my Facebook account two years after the service became available,
I don't use google's voice features, I don't use Windows whatshername. I
don't allow online services to collect images of me, etc etc. I disable
my phone's location service. And you know why? Not because I'm some
paranoid loonie. I'm not. But I'm not naive either. I'm a degree
engineer. I know better. And I've been warning people for two decades
not to buy into the internet connected "conveniences". Demand that
companies provide a method for permanently breaking their
"connectivity". Or face technological despotism. It's your choice. You either refuse it or you're complicit