How can I protect my privacy and security on IOT devices?
Your smart TV, smart doorbell, smart thermostat, or voice assistants (such as Amazon Echo, Google Nest, or Apple HomePod) are all part of the Internet of Things (IoT). As soon as a device connects to the internet, your personal data is being transferred from it to the company's servers. Unfortunately, many of these devices have weak privacy and security protections out of the box. Here are steps you can take to protect yourself:
1. Read the privacy policy and disable data transfers you don't want
Take a few minutes to review the privacy settings for each device you own and turn off any data collection you're not comfortable with:
- Amazon Echo / Alexa — manage voice recordings, transcripts, and data use at amazon.com/alexaprivacysettings. You can set recordings to auto-delete after 3 months or stop saving them entirely.
- Amazon Ring — manage privacy and sharing settings through the Ring Control Center in the app or on Ring.com. Note: Ring uses Amazon Sidewalk by default, which shares a small portion of your bandwidth with nearby Amazon devices — you can disable this in the Ring app
- Google Assistant / Google Nest — manage voice and activity history at myactivity.google.com and turn off voice and audio activity saving
- Apple HomePod / Siri — review and manage Siri & Dictation history in your Apple ID settings
- Samsung Smart TVs — disable ACR (Automatic Content Recognition), which tracks what you watch, in Settings > Support > Terms & Privacy
2. Mute or physically disable microphones and cameras when not in use
Most smart speakers have a physical mute button that cuts power to the microphone — use it when you're not actively using the device. On devices with cameras (smart displays, video doorbells, smart TVs), check whether there's a physical shutter or disable the camera in settings when it's not needed.
3. Check Mozilla's "Privacy Not Included" guide
Before buying any connected device, check Mozilla's Privacy Not Included — a regularly updated guide that rates the privacy and security of smart home products, wearables, and other connected devices.
- Always make sure to enable automatic updates, so that the software of your device remains and you'll always have the latest security patches.
- Create a guest network for your IoT devices.
- Change your default usernames and passwords, and use 2FA if available.
- Use a VPN.
