Tuesday, June 01, 2021

Amazon US Customers Have One Week to Opt Out of Mass Wireless Sharing

THE GUARDIAN: Critics raise transparency fears over plan to turn all smart home devices into ‘mesh network’

Amazon customers have one week to opt out of a plan that would turn every Echo speaker and Ring security camera in the US into a shared wireless network, as part of the company’s plan to fix connection problems for its smart home devices.

The proposal, called Amazon Sidewalk, involves the company’s devices being used as a springboard to build city-wide “mesh networks” that help simplify the process of setting up new devices, keep them online even if they’re out of range of home wifi, and extend the range of tracking devices such as those made by Tile. » | Alex Hern, Technology editor | Tuesday, June 1, 2021