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study and result Consultant According to Mozilla, they have two goals: to help buyers abandon items that protect the privacy of their loved ones, and to encourage companies to focus more on data protection. To this end, the researchers invested about 950 hours examining 151 products from six categories.
If you scroll through the list, you can either filter directly for products with a warning (“Privacy not listed”) or you can view all checked articles. It has been rated by Mozilla from “not creepy” (harmless) to “very creepy” (highly questionable).
For many, it should be worth taking a look at the questionable products, as some are real box office hits at Christmas or Black Friday. At the same time, comprehensive data protection provisions are often formulated in a way that is very complex and difficult to supervise. Mozilla provides a short summary of what data is collected, how it is (may) be processed and also whether and for what purpose the data is sold to third parties. The focus was on the following questions:
- Does the product have a camera, microphone, or geolocation that you can spy on?
- Does the product use artificial intelligence and if so how?
- What data does the device collect and how does the company use it?
- Has the company excelled in protecting user data in the past?
However, for rating purposes, it should be noted that Mozilla is also a company with its own products and interests. In addition, gadgets are smart mainly because they collect data and learn from it. For example, a smartwatch would be just a digital watch without these functions. However, it remains relevant to determine whether the data collected exceeds the actual purpose of the product and whether it is used for advertising purposes and sold to third parties, for example.
A total of 46 products with particularly problematic data protection conditions were observed. With 151 products tested, that’s roughly 30 percent. “Smart training devices are particularly problematic,” says Mozilla’s study lead author. Consumers: Indoors, they buy equipment such as a peloton bike or nordic track treadmill in order to exercise privately in their four-walls. Unfortunately, there is little privacy with These products,” Caltrader said.
Other culprits include the Facebook Portal, Amazon Echo Dot (for kids), and the Onyx Boox e-reader. Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, Google’s smart home devices, a slew of Amazon products, and Skype, but also Huawei Freebuds Pro and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 also earned a “very creepy” rating.
It should come as no surprise that the products of tech giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon in particular didn’t do poorly in the study. For many people, the usefulness of these products indicates potential privacy concerns. But if you are already unsure and find the manufacturers data protection regulations to be too complicated, you should take a look at the guide. Adults, in particular, who offer children technology products that have proven ability to collect and evaluate data, should carefully inform themselves before making a purchase.
But the Mozilla guide isn’t all about criticism. 22 products have been rated “Best” for exceptional data protection and security regulations. Including many Apple products. The US company is “the most trustworthy big tech company because it doesn’t transfer or sell your data”.
Here’s a quick look at some of the best products from the study:
As far as consoles are concerned, the Nintendo Switch performs better than the new generation Xbox tested as well. If you need more help with Black Friday and buying Christmas gifts, you can take a look at our guides:
