Let’s talk about the smart home and smart phone. More and more homes are becoming “smart” and incorporating IoT (internet of things) into daily life. Alexa, Google home, and others are showing up in homes across the US at an alarmingly quick rate. Its alarming since many IoT devices lack proper security and leave homes and businesses vulnerable to simple hacking methods. Media Post reported that more than 69% of homes in the United States have at least one “smart” devices. That number will only grow as AI (artificial intelligence) becomes more accessible and is adopted into use everywhere.

Smart phones can now be found in 85% of American homes, according to the Pew Research Center. Some people believe smart phones are an issue. In fact six in ten people said they use their smart phones too much, according to a Gallup poll.

Smart devices, phones, tablets, hubs, cameras, TVs and many more included, collect vast amounts of personal data in an attempt to provide better services, ads, or to allow developers to improve their product by figuring out how you use their products. So, where does all this data really go and is it stored in a safe location? Unfortunately, that answer is likely “no”. Over the past few years, we have seen several large providers face scrutiny due to data abuse and some were fined for violating GDPR (a governing law in Europe). All of this to say that its best to proceed with caution around “smart” devices. Even the government has recently advised of using caution when speaking around smart devices. So, the next time you get a new phone or smart device for your home, double check the security and privacy settings to turn off optional data sharing to protect yourself.

Missed Part 1 in our series? No problem, check out Part 1 in our Data Privacy series here: Data Privacy, Part 1.

Ready for more? Check out Part 3 in our Data Privacy series here: Data Privacy, Part 3.