🚨 AMAZON DEVICE OWNERS 🚨
You have 10 days to opt out!
Amazon devices will soon automatically share your Internet with neighbors | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/amazon-devices-will-soon-automatically-share-your-internet-with-neighbors/
^^ Boosting this because June 8 the deadline to opt out of Sidewalk.
Do it now!
@voltronic Thanks for sharing this. I just disabled it.
Why I've never had the slightest interest in a device manufactured by Amazon (or Google), in a nutshell.
Making people "share" stuff isn't sharing, and I PAY for my high-speed Internet. I'm not a utility, nor am I providing a public service.
I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas. 🤔
I believe this is more stuff that can act as some kind of a WiFi base station. A Kindle won't do that.
At least, I HOPE it won't.
I don't own any Kindles, and if the Kindle app on my iPad starts "sharing" any networks, there'll be...TROUBLE.
My Kindle Fire is WiFi based, unfortunately. It not only has E-Books but apps for things like Amazon Prime and Netflix. The only salvation is that WiFi is provided as a part of my Homeowners Association dues so all my neighbors have WiFi. 🤷♀️
I'll never buy a device manufactured by Amazon or Google.
Apple's at least up-front about what they do.
@mcfate I wouldn't say that Apple is that upfront about what it does.
Like do you know how much of your stuff it can actually decrypt and read in their iCloud?
@voltronic I wonder what the ISPs have to say about that. This is like stealing cable, but, like, really public stealing.
Except YOU'D be paying for it.
Just more proof for me that internet itself should be a public utility, like water, power and sewer, since it’s apparently going to be utilized like that now anyway.
Nobody's utilizing MY Internet that way.
But yeah, we should go back to having the Internet be government-owned, once they gave it up, the Neverending September began.
Today is SATURDAY, the 10133rd of SEPTEMBER, 1993.
@mcfate @Siren_six
See the reply to my original post. ISPs have already been doing this for a long time:
@mcfate
You say that nobody is using YOUR internet that way, but I recall that we had a conversation about your combo gateway / Wi-Fi router. If you rent that thing rather than own it, you might want to check.
@voltronic Thanks for posting. I have Alexa for my blind mother. I don't see Amazon Sidewalk in my app tho...
@voltronic
I have a Firestick.
For now, in the UK Sidewalk is not available, so there is no option to turn off *or* on.
However, if they roll it out here, I will opt out. Thanks for the headsup.
^ I have a few thoughts on this:
1. This is why I don't own any of these devices.
2. If you own these devices, it is safest to have them on their own VLAN.
3. The idea of using customers' hardware and connection for a public mesh network can go straight to hell.
3a. I know some ISPs do this with their wireless gateways. That's why you should not use them, and buy your own if possible.
4. Corporate espionage should be illegal.