Merry Christmas, your new air fryer is spying on you

Your air fryer, and probably every other app-connected device in your life, collects a lot of personal information. Watchdogs in the UK and US are paying attention and trying to restrict the flow and sale of this data.

Picture the scene: You’ve gathered with your family for the holidays and everyone has opened their presents. Your husband bought you that new air fryer you’ve been eyeing. You’re excited, ready to see what this thing can do to potatoes, when your husband leans over and warns you.

“It’s the best on the market, just make sure you don’t speak out loud when using it.”

Confused as to why you can’t talk about your new kitchen gadget, you ask your husband why. “Well,” they say. “It’s an air fryer. You need an app to use it, and the app records everything your phone hears.

This is the sad reality of deep fryers and hundreds of other consumer products today. More of our devices are connected than ever before, all running apps, all collecting data about us that feeds into electricity-guzzling data centers. A November report by UK consumer protection group Which? in detail some of the worst offenders.

The group took a look at the top-rated air fryers on Amazon and explored the privacy risks surrounding them. It goes without saying that the machine you use to crisp potatoes shouldn’t be listening to you, but it does. Your air fryer may actually know more about you than some of your friends.

“In the air fryer category, as well as knowing the exact location of customers, all three products wanted permission to record audio on the user’s phone for no reason given. Xiaomi’s app connected to its fryer connected to trackers from Facebook, Pangle (TikTok’s ad network for businesses) and Chinese tech giant Tencent (depending on the user’s location). The Aigostar fryer wanted to know the gender and date of birth when creating an owner account, again for no apparent reason, but this was optional. Fryers Aigostar and Xiaomi sent people’s personal data to servers in China, although this was noted in the privacy notice.

which ones? also took a look at smartwatches, smart TVs, clocks and a range of other gadgets that will end up under Christmas trees this year. The results were appalling all around. Every electronic device you own is spying on you, especially if it’s connected to an app on your phone.

Most of us know this. We have accepted it as a part of life in the modern world. There are ways around it, of course. You can use a Pi-hole or similar device to redirect data collection or avoid using applications. The safest option is to opt out entirely and never use smart devices.

But it doesn’t have to be. Every piece of technology shouldn’t be a devil’s bargain when we let a tech company read our phone’s contact list so we can remotely turn off an oven. More and more people are angry about this problem and are complaining to their government. Watchdog groups in the UK and US are taking note.

In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – a watchdog that reports to Parliament – said it plans to issued new guidelines in early 2025 around data collection. “The ICO is working on new guidelines for manufacturers of smart products which will be published in spring 2025. The guidelines will set out clear expectations of what they need to do to comply with data protection laws and in turn protect people using smart products,” said Slavka Bielikova, the ICO’s chief policy adviser, after the report by Which? hit the news.

“The guidelines will outline clear expectations of what they need to do to comply with data protection laws and in turn protect people using smart products,” Bielikova said. “Our guidance will enable manufacturers to plan and invest in the use of information responsibly. We want to help organizations get it right, but where they don’t, we’ll be ready to act to ensure consumers are protected from harm.”

In the United States, this is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). looking to fight an adjacent but related problem. Much of the data collected by smart devices ends up being sold and traded on the Internet by shady data brokers. that’s it asking Congress to give him more power to go after data brokers who sell America’s sensitive information on the open market.

“By selling our most sensitive personal data without our knowledge or consent, data brokers can profit by enabling fraud, stalking and spying,” Rohit Chopra, CFPB Director it said in a statement about the proposal. “The CFPB’s proposed rule will curb these practices that threaten our personal safety and undermine America’s national security.”

The CFPB isn’t asking the US to pass a new law, it’s simply asking to enforce the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer privacy law passed in 1970. Data brokers are currently exempt from the law. The CFPB wants the loophole they slipped through closed.

The CFPB announced this request on December 3rd. How much purchase will the consumer-focused regulatory agency, founded in 2011, have in the incoming Trump administration? It’s impossible to know, but the signs aren’t good. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are teasing the elimination of sacred cows like veterans benefits. It’s hard to imagine a future where a smaller, lesser-known agency isn’t targeted by the new regime.

No one is coming to save you from your air fryer, I say. It’s best to keep apps off your phone and buy the dumbest devices you can