iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
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Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#2It seems that these days you should assume that any product which needs an Internet connection to function is going to phone home through that. There's certainly a market for "smart, but not too smart" devices; unfortunately I doubt it's very large.
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#3Thanks, I don't need a vacuum that sends data to you, or anyone else. It's not necessary to the function of the product. The convenience does not outweigh the cost of my privacy, and I'm certainly not going to pay you to extract it from me. You should be paying me to use your product if you want the data.
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#4It seems that these days you should assume that any product which needs an Internet connection to function is going to phone home through that. There's certainly a market for "smart, but not too smart" devices; unfortunately I doubt it's very large.
It's another reason why I quite using fitbit. There is no reason at all you need internet connectivity to send the data 3 feet from the device to the phone via bluetooth. They don't need to collect the data at all, and since there is no opt-out, I just quit using it.
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#5It seems that these days you should assume that any product which needs an Internet connection to function is going to phone home through that. There's certainly a market for "smart, but not too smart" devices; unfortunately I doubt it's very large.
It's another reason why I quite using fitbit. There is no reason at all you need internet connectivity to send the data 3 feet from the device to the phone via bluetooth. They don't need to collect the data at all, and since there is no opt-out, I just quit using it.
Actually with fitbit there is a reason. You can install the fitbit app on multiple devices, and your tracker can sync with any of them. The internet connectivity is basically so they can keep a single source of truth so that your different devices don't get out of sync. This becomes even more true if you have multiple fitbit devices on one fitbit account (or indeed if you have it set to use your phones inbuilt pedometer stuff)
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#6Thanks, I don't need a vacuum that sends data to you, or anyone else. It's not necessary to the function of the product. The convenience does not outweigh the cost of my privacy, and I'm certainly not going to pay you to extract it from me. You should be paying me to use your product if you want the data.
I don't disagree but the attitude in corporate America is simply anything for profit is good and justified. iRobot will happily argue their service will cost more unless they share your data when what they really mean is you'll have to offset this new revenue stream for them if you want them to stop.
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#7Thanks, I don't need a vacuum that sends data to you, or anyone else. It's not necessary to the function of the product. The convenience does not outweigh the cost of my privacy, and I'm certainly not going to pay you to extract it from me. You should be paying me to use your product if you want the data.
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Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#8It seems that these days you should assume that any product which needs an Internet connection to function is going to phone home through that. There's certainly a market for "smart, but not too smart" devices; unfortunately I doubt it's very large.
It's another reason why I quite using fitbit. There is no reason at all you need internet connectivity to send the data 3 feet from the device to the phone via bluetooth. They don't need to collect the data at all, and since there is no opt-out, I just quit using it.
Did you replace it with anything ?
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#9You're being deliberately misleading to stir the pot. It says they use Google Analytics and Ads, just like the other 3/4 of the internet.
Re: iRobot (Roomba) shares customer data with Google and other affiliates
#10I must be missing something. Where do they say they send data to google?
Are we talking about the Assistant/Alexa integration, which sounds fairly focused? I guess the key question is whether or not they are sending data when you aren't using Assistant or Alexa.
Or are we talking about the fact that they are using ad networks to show ads? The latter isn't anything different than any site that sends ads.