We are living in a time when smart devices have become the norm. From Televisions that can listen to you more than your spouse, to refrigerators that know how many apples are left, to bulbs that come on or off at your command, these smart devices have become way smarter than ever.
One could say that these smart devices are a quite curious, as they seem to care a lot about our habits and our preferences. In light of the fact that we trust these devices, and that they make things easier for us, one concerns remains: could these devices be gathering data.
I know this is something we see in a lot of sci-fi movies, but these smart devices appear to be collecting data. Our smart television pays attention to the kinds of things we watch to be able to figure out our preferences. Our smart refrigerators observe our eating habit; what we take out at certain times or days and what we stock it with, to be able to know when the milk, for example, is finished. Our smart music players listen in for that command to start playing and tracks our listening preferences, in order to play more songs like the ones we like. It’s as if people’s homes these days are now filled with a variety of conscious devices.
Sometimes, it feels like you’re being watched, or listened to or your movement monitored in your home. Let’s not forget about the fact that some of these devices are connected to our wi-fi and our phones.
Now that we know that these devices collect data, the question remain, who or what is the data for. I can think of two reasons why these smart devices gather data about us. The first is to improve efficiency. This is like learning someone. The more data these devices gather about a person, the more they know about that person and what they like or dislike. This in turn helps them make more informed decisions or suggestions, tailored to suit your needs or desire.
The second reason I can think of is for advertisers. Sometimes, the data gathered by the devices are sent to advertisers. For advertising firms, such data are the holy grail. Having access to such data can help these firms know how better to structure and target their ads to make them effective.
This brings privacy into question. Is our data safe out there? Should our data even be out there? While these are rhetorical questions meant for reflection, they bring our mind to the important concept of data privacy.
I’m not against smart device, neither am I trying to demonize them. In fact, these devices are probably not spying on us on purpose. However, it could turn into actual spying if they get hacked. We can’t deny the fact that there are malicious people out there looking to take advantage of things like this. This is why, as an owner of smart devices, you should take regular security measures like keeping the devices updated, changing passwords and even going through the privacy settings.
