What could possibly go wrong (or right, depending on who is the product)
[Mod Note]: Warning: Video contains profanity.
Take a deep breath, bend over and kiss your lass goodbye. You’re gonna miss it.
Good to see my lass leave. I was tired of her.
Hasn’t been herself lately.
Excellent reply and assessment. Thanks much for your time and for sharing of your insights.
I’m a web developer and in my project we also integrate segment.io for analytics and out of the box it tracks all the device properties you see listed.
This could be useful for troubleshooting issues and to analyze the bulk traffic.
However, I can’t assure you that this data is not being shared with 3rd parties.
Hey Zeca
Are you in substantial agreement with the OP here:
So much time spent to defend the indefensible. You either work for them or Blaze etc or. Just a typical fanboy who has zero care about others.
PERFECT quote!
Wyze is now information sharing with the data broker company Link. A company that links your data across sites, platforms, other data brokers, Flock, law enforcement, etc. to create an exceptionally detailed picture of you. It’s one of the industry’s worst for privacy.
Proof or evidence of that?
Wyze needs to share some of your information with several companies for integration into home assistants and the like. While they probably can sell aggregated/anonymized information to data brokers, I have not seen any evidence of that, so please link to your source(s).
Proof is easy. Here’s a list of the data that the two personal data stealing apps embedded in the Wyze app collect. Oh, and before you say collecting this data is required for the Wyze app to integrate to other home automation apps like Amazon or Google, I use Duck Duck Go to block these personal data stealing sub-apps, and my integration works just fine. Oh and before you say “Wyze doesn’t sell your data”, Wyze does not say they don’t “share” your personal data with other companies in order to get something in return. And also, I’m aware of other companies that use “bug collector” sub-apps that don’t steal personal information, but rather only collect technical info. So don’t try to tell me these apps are to help the Wyze collect data for bug resolution. There are less intrusive sub-apps for that.
The only commercial privacy-respecting, end-to-end encrypted cloud camera solution is HomeKit Secure Video.
Unfortunately none of the Wyze devices support HKSV, and it’s not available on Android, only Apple/iOS.
Fyi, here’s the example of the sub-app that DOESN’T steal personal Information. Not so surprisingly it’s name is “Bugsnag”. So trying to argue that Wyze doesn’t necessarily need all the info that their existing personal data stealing sub-apps “might” collect isn’t a valid argument, since there are available apps that only collect technical information.
I’m not seeing any evidence in those shots that anything is being sold to “Link” which I can’t even find a data harvester under that name, nor do I see that it is coming specifically from a Wyze cam.
Your browser has nothing to do with the cams communicating directly to the home automation integrators. That does not run through your browser, it goes direct between them.
Are they selling aggregated, anonymized data? Probably. Who isn’t? Are they selling your PERSONAL INFORMATION? Unlikely. They’re under enough scrutiny around security, some of the hosting providers they use, etc. If they were, they’d need to have a “do not sell my personal information” opt out and I have not seen that option anywhere.
All that being said, since I know that pretty much everyone is monetizing data in some way, I use disposable email addresses for accounts like this and a google voice number when possible. Other than that, there is no personal information, especially since my cams do not view any private spaces.
Yep Wyze is a very shady company……
The Duck Duck Go browser includes a feature (sub-app) that blocks recognized data stealing sub-apps embedded in other applications including Wyze. It does this by implementing a VPN, so all traffic is screened and recognized data stealing apps are blocked. It has nothing to do with the browser.
I’m the past, Wyze used the excuse that they needed these data stealing apps to do support and provide functionality, which I never believed. Since the Wyze app works fine with all these sub-apps blocked, it’s clear that Wyze isn’t using them for support.
FYI, you said is Wyze selling my data, but you keep ignoring that they can still “share” the data with other companies that sell it or use it without my permission.
If you read the list of data these apps collect, such as your name, email, unique ID, GPS coordinates, etc. It includes lots of personal information.
First, those plugins are hyper sensitive, I use ublock and it frequently warns me that I’ve clicked an affiliate link etc, which I know, and am fine with, and continue. Duck Duck Go is notorious for warning you about all kinds of totally benign things in order to prove their value to you. And why would they do that? Why do they advertise so heavily and then take measures to convince you to keep using it (must be working great, look at all this stuff it blocked)? How do you think they’re making money? Think about it. I bet they don’t flag or alert you to their own data sharing in those reports.
Second, again, the connectivity between the camera and integration companies does not use your browser at all, nor does it pass through a browser based VPN.
If you’re concerned, get rid of any cloud based cameras from any brand, set up a closed circuit hard wired system to an NVR.
Do you have a cell phone? A PC running Windows or Mac? Any smart home devices? Make sure you get rid of all those also.
Do you understand how a VPN works? You keep saying “browser”.
I already stated that the SUB-APP included with the DuckDuckGo app creates a VPN that ALL traffic on my android device goes through. It has NOTHING AT ALL to do with the browser. The only reason I’m still using the Wyze app is because DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection is blocking the data stealing sub-apps in the Wyze app.
At least half the apps on my Android devices have these built-in data stealing apps. It’s not just Wyze. But I expect that from “free” apps. The DuckDuckGo sub-app VPN (not the browser), blocks 1000s of requests per hour from all these data stealing apps.
This has nothing to do with the cameras, it’s just the Wyze app.
My point is the same as it was when I reported this years ago. The Wyze app is absolutely collecting our personal information and either selling or sharing it with other companies without our approval. In your original post I replied to, you said you wanted proof. I provided proof.
