Browser and VPN provider Mozilla has published the latest edition of the *Privacy Not Included shopping guide, to help people make better informed buying decisions ahead of Christmas.
Based on roughly 1,000 hours of research into popular internet-connected devices and their associated privacy policies, the guide offers a rundown of the “creepiest” gadgets on the market.
At the top of Mozilla’s naughty list this year sit the Amazon Echo, Facebook Portal and NordicTrack Treadmill, each of which collect a large quantity of user data of various kinds, the company asserts.
Naughty or nice?
More specifically, Mozilla notes that the smart devices from Amazon and Facebook (which both feature Alexa) are configured to record all voice commands they receive, which are then relayed back to the vendor’s servers. They also collect a range of metadata that can be used for the purposes of targeted advertising.
NordicTrack, meanwhile, reserves the right to sell user data, and contact users via SMS message or telephone, even if their number is on a “Do-Not-Call list”. The company may…
