I read the article and I don’t think your interpretation of the “suggested” narrative is there. The title is “ A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook?”. That’s not really implying a “they’re watching you narrative” - who’s “they” and if it’s global syndicate why did they do something as innocuous as putting it on Facebook? But yes, the real story is that training data (and “re…
The part that's missing is that it isn't just "a Roomba", it's "a Roomba labelled with “video recording in progress”". Saying 'a Roomba' implies that it could've been done from any Roomba.
Couldn't it have been? after all they can remotely update the firmware. They just weren't in this case.
Here's a funny bit. Roomba iOS app refuses to go past its welcome screen unless its granted access to the location info. This is unreasonable, they don't need this info for their app to function. However their devices are all but unusable without an app, so they ultimately blackmail people into giving location data to them. Meaning they don't really give a sh#t about users' privacy, so it's not that "they are watchin…
I have a few Roombas and no app. I just hit the button and the robot does its thing.
More often than not just one or two rooms need cleaning, but not the whole place. Can't do that with a button press.
Key paragraph for our friends who don’t RTFA > iRobot … confirmed that these images were captured by its Roombas in 2020. All of them came from “special development robots with hardware and software modifications that are not and never were present on iRobot consumer products for purchase,” the company said in a statement. They were given to “paid collectors and employees” who signed written agreements acknowledging…
Here's a funny bit. Roomba iOS app refuses to go past its welcome screen unless its granted access to the location info. This is unreasonable, they don't need this info for their app to function. However their devices are all but unusable without an app, so they ultimately blackmail people into giving location data to them. Meaning they don't really give a sh#t about users' privacy, so it's not that "they are watchin…
That’s really annoying but can’t you use use the “while using the app” permission? Or do they insist on “Always”.
And I am not sure I buy the “anyone who does one bad thing will necessarily do all of the bad things” view.
Hell with Roomba. Vacuuming floors is nothing. I want a robot that cleans and sanitizes toilets and bathrooms, another that does dishes and the kitchen sink, and one for the car.
Here's a funny bit. Roomba iOS app refuses to go past its welcome screen unless its granted access to the location info. This is unreasonable, they don't need this info for their app to function. However their devices are all but unusable without an app, so they ultimately blackmail people into giving location data to them. Meaning they don't really give a sh#t about users' privacy, so it's not that "they are watchin…
Is iOS like Android where Bluetooth permissions are a part of the location info permissions?
Yeah, I’m not sure I buy their explanation about special development roombas since they offered zero proof. I have an ancient Roomba that’s still going and dread having to replace it one day.
You could buy a lidar based robot vacuum instead of visible-light camera. The only benefit I know of that visible-light provides is so-called "poop detection" and avoidance, but that's somewhat unreliable anyway. Lidar, in theory, could create a photo-like image, but that resolution costs money and none of these robot vacuums are anywhere near that . Plus they map depth, not texture, so anything it does create is som…
Apart from the most recent top of the line models, lidar sensors are mounted at the top of the device and cannot detect short items (slippers, cables). They are not much more capable with obsticalr avoidance than the front bumper system on roombas.
The few robot vacuums that have only a front lidar sensors perform poorly compared to the camera only or lidar augmented camera in the latest Roomba and Roborocks.
Everyone RTFA in this case! I did not expect to see actual photos of the woman sitting on the toilet in this article. But damn, they're real and published dead center. It's awful and voyeuristic to feature, but in a way it brings to life the freakishly perverse Orwellian horror of all of this. This piece hits hard, as it should. How did neither Roomba nor ScaleAI have safeguards against PII of this nature? This is in…
If you read the article you'll also find the owners were specifically aware that these units are special in that they upload all data - commercial devices do not share any images or video without the users consent [0]. It's also absurd to think they didn't face safeguards. We can only speculate if the individual was fired, or if stronger policies were put in place since 2020, but it's naive to expect that whatever po…
> James Baussmann, iRobot’s spokesperson, said in an email the company had “taken every precaution to ensure that personal data is processed securely and in accordance with applicable law,” and that the images shared with MIT Technology Review were “shared in violation of a written non-disclosure agreement between iRobot and an image annotation service provider.” In an emailed statement a few weeks after we shared the images with the company, iRobot CEO Colin Angle said that “iRobot is terminating its relationship with the service provider who leaked the images, is actively investigating the matter, and [is] taking measures to help prevent a similar leak by any service provider in the future.”
Here's a funny bit. Roomba iOS app refuses to go past its welcome screen unless its granted access to the location info. This is unreasonable, they don't need this info for their app to function. However their devices are all but unusable without an app, so they ultimately blackmail people into giving location data to them. Meaning they don't really give a sh#t about users' privacy, so it's not that "they are watchin…
That’s really annoying but can’t you use use the “while using the app” permission? Or do they insist on “Always”. And I am not sure I buy the “anyone who does one bad thing will necessarily do all of the bad things” view.
Why would I want them to know where I live? It's just a thing that sucks dirt of my floor.
And that's without getting into why it must have an Internet connection (to enable a large chunk of its functionality). It has a Bluetooth, it is perfectly capable of talking to the smartphone using it, but it can't be controlled that way.
Re: bad thing - not a "bad thing" per se, just a very cavalier attitude, which is as troubling.
Here's a funny bit. Roomba iOS app refuses to go past its welcome screen unless its granted access to the location info. This is unreasonable, they don't need this info for their app to function. However their devices are all but unusable without an app, so they ultimately blackmail people into giving location data to them. Meaning they don't really give a sh#t about users' privacy, so it's not that "they are watchin…
> Roomba iOS app refuses to go past its welcome screen unless its granted access to the location info. Does anyone know, is this like Android where some bluetooth functionality is behind the location permission?
Not Bluetooth, but you need(ed?) location permission to send/receive some broadcasts. I have a remote app that needs location permission to send a broadcast searching for TVs, so I have it set to “ask me every time” and imprecise location. (Which on iOS is about a whole city wide)
There’s a specific “local network” permission nowadays so maybe it was the older permission API because you can deduce location from MAC addresses?