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Amazon has just acquired the Eero mesh network startup for an undisclosed amount. This is great news for the founders of Eero, who undoubtedly have low morale in the sum of Bezos, and it is certainly an excellent initiative for Amazon, which can now control an unknown number of Wi-Fi routers However, if you are an Eero user and you are trying to avoid giving your data to Amazon, you may be concerned.
I have been a fan of Eero since the company announced its smart wifi system four years ago. I even met the co-founder and CEO of Eero, who was kind enough to come and visit the Gizmodo headquarters and show me a first prototype of the elegant white router, which can be connected to others. Eero routers to create a mesh network of any size. Better yet, the whole system was controlled with a handy smartphone app. Its attractive industrial design and intuitive user experience make it an Apple product. I remember being told, "I bet Apple is buying this business someday."
Well, now, Amazon has. I'd like to imagine that Apple would have been the parent company that would have allowed Eero to work seamlessly with iOS and Mac devices, while doubling the router's privacy settings. Instead, we have Amazon, a company that will probably push these things into the throats of every existing premium customer. We must also ask ourselves if Amazon will take advantage of the possession of the main point of Internet access for millions of Eero users.
At present, Eero claims that it collects anonymized data, such as aggregated metrics, to improve network performance. It is important to note that the company also states that it "never monitors the websites you visit and does not collect the content of your network traffic." Eero's privacy policy leaves a little more room. Most of the time, politics is beautiful. It is clear that Eero is not secretly pursuing you in a pernicious way.
I contacted Amazon and Eero to request changes to the data collection or privacy policy. Amazon has provided basic information. Eero did not answer me, however, in a tweetThe router's startup wrote: "… eero and Amazon take customer confidentiality very seriously and we will continue to protect it. eero does not track customers' Internet activity and this policy will not change with the acquisition. "
That sounds pretty unambiguous, but let's go back and look at Amazon's track record. We know that Amazon has for many years collected a considerable amount of data about its users through its website by tracking your purchases and purchases, as well as its hardware products. Take Alexa, for example. While Alexa usually only registers your orders after saying the word "idle", "Amazon processes and maintains your Alexa interactions, such as your voice input, your music playlists, and your Alexa To-Do lists." , in the cloud to provide, customize, etc. and improve our services, "according to the terms of use Alexa. Fire TV's terms include similar benefits.
At first glance, he is innocent – who does not want improved services? – but the consent you give Amazon when you accept the terms is actually extremely vague. It could mean a lot of things. Let's take the example of the Amazon Prime credit card issued by Chase Bank. Gizmodo's Kashmir Hill recently tried to determine how much Amazon had learned about her when she had spent money with her co-branded Amazon credit card. To his chagrin, neither Amazon nor Chase would say in clear terms. A credit card expert told Hill that he suspected "that they hold a lot of data", which led him to the conclusion that the most private way is to use the card only for purchases by Amazon and Whole Foods, because Amazon already knows what it is.
For all unanswered questions about the specifics of Amazon's data practices, it is perfectly clear that the company is making a lot of money by collecting and using data to guide its customers towards buying additional content on Amazon. It also makes sense that Amazon is tackling a big acquisition such as Eero by baduring customers that the system will be very inconvenient and that users who already liked the routers might continue to like it in the same way. It's a bit like Amazon bought Whole Foods, did not say anything about the sale of Echos in the aisle of fruits and vegetables, and then a few months later, "Farm Fresh" Echos appeared alongside pyramids. citrus.
We do not know what the company will do with its new long-term small router manufacturer. Maybe Amazon will lower the price, as has been the case with many races after its acquisition by Whole Foods. Probably, this will favor the devil of Eero devices by pushing them to the top of all Amazon searches on wifi routers and removing them on the first day of next summer. Maybe Amazon may find new ways to use routers to learn more about customers and sell them more junk mail. Amazon controls the channels that power the Internet backbone via AWS. It is by far the largest online retailer. Imagine how much he could learn more about you when he was controlling your wifi router. Or not. It's pretty scary.
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