Welcome to Amazon Sidewalk! Now here’s how to turn it off

Amazon Echo users received an email just before Thanksgiving about a new feature coming to their smart speakers: Amazon Sidewalk, a shared neighborhood network protocol that enables devices like sensors. devices and animal trackers to connect to the Internet even when not connected to Wi-Fi.

That’s a nifty idea, and with enough Echo speakers and Ring devices (some of Amazon’s Ring cameras also work with Sidewalk) working together as sidewalk bridges, you could have a low-powered Sidewalk network. and long-range that covers an entire neighborhood.

But Amazon’s flexible email pedals are a key issue when it comes to Sidewalk functionality on your Echo and Ring devices: rather than being an opt-in feature, it’s opt-in.outside, which means that unless you actively disable Sidewalk support, it will be enabled by default. (An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to TechHive that Sidewalk will indeed be a deactivation feature.)

“Sidewalk is coming to your Echo device later this year,” the email read, “but you can turn this feature off at any time from the Amazon Alexa app.”

Sidewalk is opt-out, not opt-in

Now that sentence didn’t set off the alarm in my head when I first read it; after all, “later this year” seems a long way off in the future, right?

Of course, if you stop and think for a second, you realize that there is barely a month left in 2020 (thank goodness), and “it’s happening” means that he—Sidewalk – actually happens to your Echo device, unless you do something about it.

What exactly are the consequences of running Sidewalk on your Echo and Ring devices? Will this allow strangers with Sidewalk compatible gadgets to enjoy your home internet connection for free? And what are the benefits of keeping Sidewalk on?

Sidewalk, privacy and you

For its part, Amazon is promising a series of security measures designed to protect both Sidewalk bridge owners and passers-by with devices that can connect to Sidewalk.

Data that travels over Sidewalk networks is secured with three levels of encryption, Amazon says, while one-way hash keys, cryptographic algorithms, and rotating device identifiers help “minimize” Sidewalk user data. In other words, those who log into your Sidewalk Bridge won’t be able to see you or your data, and you won’t see them. (Amazon has a whole white paper devoted to Sidewalk security.)

Amazon also promises that nearby Sidewalk users won’t unduly undermine your internet connection, with Sidewalk only using a maximum of 80Kbps of bandwidth at any given time and no more than 500MB of total monthly data. Now 500MB is no small feat, especially for those with home data limits, but as Amazon points out, that equates to around 10 minutes of HD video streaming.

There is well things on Sidewalk too

Let’s not forget that a Sidewalk network in your neighborhood can offer a lot of enticing benefits as well. Thanks to Sidewalk, you can (for example) receive alerts from a motion sensor located on the edge of your property, including the Ring Mailbox sensor that we recently reviewed, even if it’s out of Wi-Fi range. It would also make it easier to find any missing items you’ve marked with a Tile tracker, which will be among the first third-party devices to be able to connect to Sidewalk networks.

Still, should Amazon have adopted an acceptance policy for Sidewalk rather than an opt-out policy? Well, Yeah, especially given the privacy controversies that have plagued the Echo and Ring devices over the past two years. And while I can see why Amazon thought the opt-out option would give Sidewalk a good start, it also constitutes an unfortunate – and avoidable – privacy stumble from the get-go.

How to turn off Sidewalk on Echo, Ring devices

If you decide not to participate in Sidewalk, it’s a snap with a few steps that will impact all of your connected Echo and Ring devices.

1. Open the Alexa app, tap More> Settings> Account Settings> Amazon Sidewalk.
2. If you want to turn off Sidewalk support completely, turn off Amazon sidewalk setting, and you’re done.
3. Another option is to allow Sidewalk but disable Community research, a feature that allows owners of Sidewalk compatible trackers to locate their lost devices or pets. Amazon promises that the community search feature will only allow users to see an “approximate” location, and that location data will not reveal any personal information. Still, if you want, you can go on and turn Community research of.