Roombas have been busy mapping our homes, and now that data could be shared
Roombas have been busy mapping our homes, and now that data could be shared
Over the past couple of years, Roombas haven’t just been picking up dust and chauffeuring cats around, they’ve also been mapping the layout of your home. Now, Colin Angle, the chief executive of Roomba maker iRobot, has said he wants to share the data from these maps in order to improve the future of smart home technology.
Roomba owners can opt out of cloud-sharing functions within the iRobot Home app, but technically, the iRobot terms of service and privacy policy say they have the right to share your personal information. The information is buried, laden in legal language, and, asGizmodo points out, includes this clause which could allow iRobot to sell the information without consent:
[We may share your personal information with] other parties in connection with any company transaction, such as a merger, sale of all or a portion of company assets or shares, reorganization, financing, change of control or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company or third party or in the event of bankruptcy or related or similar proceeding.
Most don’t thoroughly comb over entire terms of service agreements and privacy policies before agreeing to use apps and products. While blame could easily be placed on the user, the power dynamic between service and consumer gives tech companies leverage to exploit their customers.
“Sure we have a Terms of Service Agreement and a plain-English Privacy Policy,” said the CEO in the apology post, “but the reality is most of us — myself included — don't take the time to thoroughly review them.”
Read full article and learn more about Terms of Service and Privacy Policy here.
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