Amazon to share your Internet with neighbors on Tuesday - How to opt out

[Porthos]

Amazon to share your Internet with neighbors on Tuesday - How to opt out

Amazon will be launching the Amazon Sidewalk service on Tuesday that automatically opts-in your Echo and Ring devices into a new feature that shares your Internet with your neighbors. Here's more about this new feature and how to opt-out of sharing your bandwidth with other Amazon devices.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Sky-Knight]

I opted out with the easiest of decisions...

I simply do not own any of that crap! It was a privacy problem at launch, this is just yet another iteration of the invasion.

 

[Markverhyden]

Yep. The easiest way to stop is to never have started in the first place.

 

[Metanis]

Our kids kept getting us these things as gifts. I opted out yesterday. Make it worth my while Amazon!

 

[Porthos]

I use an echo out in the workshop. Good to control my lights and fans. Also good for playing prime music.

 

[sapphirescales]

I use Alexa to control lights, check my calendar, set timers, check the time, use as an alarm clock, a whole-house intercom, and to set reminders. It's convenient, but I'm starting to wonder if these conveniences are worth the privacy violations. Now Amazon wants to steal my bandwidth and give it to my neighbors? What gives them the right to do this sh*t!? Oh, let me guess. On page 1,330,211 of the agreement it says something about giving up control of my bandwidth to Amazon in paragraph 7. It's totally possible to do most of what Alexa does without having it connected to the cloud. Technology started going in the wrong direction around 2007 or so and has done nothing but gotten worse ever since.

 

[GTP]

I use an echo out in the workshop. Good to control my lights and fans. Also good for playing prime music.

I have a device on my hand called a finger that easily controls lights and fans. My music collection is on my PC so I can create whatever playlists I like.
I have clients with those "Hey Google" devices. I ask them to switch them off before I get there.
I dont and wont ever trust these devices. Simple as that.

 

[britechguy]

I don't use these devices either, but I will say that I've played with Google Assistant when using Android Auto. When driving it can be very handy to be able to issue voice commands to do things like place calls without ever having to touch the device.

But I have clients with them, and have set them up for clients as well. I don't have to like them or trust them, and I'd never even consider asking a client to switch one off in their own home or office. That's not my place. [And, note, that's not to say anyone else is wrong for asking, as you can never get what you don't ask for. I just don't and wouldn't.]

 

[phaZed]

I don't do the Amazon/Alexa thing either. Google Assistant at times on the phone, but even that's rare. I host all my smart home stuff in-house. I build all my lights/devices out of ESP8266's. I have Hue. It all ties into Home Assistant.

 

[Bobsie1945]

Since I pay my ISP for my monthly bandwidth, what gives Amazon the right to steal any of it from me? It is theft no matter if their terms of service say so or not. If they want to use the bandwidth I pay for, then they should reimburse me for it. In fact, they should reimburse everyone that they steal from. Period.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

We've had a Ring camera system for a few years, since I wanted exterior floodlights with cameras and Rings were one of the few affordable choices back then. Still works great, but I'll be curious about this "hot spot feature". Initial news articles make it sound like an open public hot spot. But reading more into it, makes me think it is just a new auto IoT thing that Amazon devices on a particular network will automatically latch onto for cross communication. Sorta how a "mesh system" will automatically find all its parts on a network. I see this article linked above mentions it can allow neighbors Amazon devices to failover to yours if their internet goes down. My neighbor has a different camera system though. But, I'll turn it off anyways...at least Amazon is giving you that choice.

 

[Big Jim]

i've fully jumped on the home automation band wagon.
I have all of my down stairs lights controlled by app or by voice. got a few Smartthings devices as well for various bits and bobs.

I haven't gone as deep as some however.
Moving house soon, not looking forward to having to set everything up again with new layout etc.

 

[Archon Prime]

rofl... gees all the tinfoil hats in here. My whole home is automated. Doors, cams, garage, lights, switches, TVs, Thermostat, etc. If Google wants to know **** about my boring life, they are more than welcome.

 

[britechguy]

If Google wants to know **** about my boring life, they are more than welcome.

Seriously, I think that's fine. I use Gmail, and have since its earliest days, but I knew (and know) the price that goes with it. And my attitude toward Google scanning my messages is pretty much in line with yours. There's little "there there" that I care about.

I'm actually in another round, in another venue, of trying to get the readership to understand that you should never, ever, ever presume that any text based communication carried either over the internet or via SMS is actually private. The internet, and non-voice telecommunications, has been and remains the Wild West as far as the law goes in the USA, and to a large extent elsewhere as well. You are offered far, far greater protection using landline based voice telecommunications than you are either via email or SMS. Since so much cellular traffic these days is VoLTE and, sometimes, VoWiFi, the protections you get for landline communications don't apply.

 

[GTP]

rofl... gees all the tinfoil hats in here.

 

[VISA MC]

Interestingly enough, everyone has mentioned being on the stealing end of this but not on the gaining end of this.
The way I see this is if my internet goes out but my neighbor still has internet and we both have Ring devices, mine would still work. Or if I have one in a spotty part of my home or office.

I guess since we are all IT professionals here, it’s assumed our junk has great coverage and redundant internet providers etc. which is why nobody has mentioned the benefits of this. I don’t see it being an open hot spot, but only for other Amazon devices to use and they are only drawing 80kbps max. I don’t think any of us would miss 80kbps