26 Jul iRobot Caught In Privacy Dispute Over Possible Sharing of Users’ Home Maps
According to news last Tuesday, automatic vacuum maker iRobot is involved in a privacy conflict upon considering the possibility of selling customer’s floor plan data to tech giants.
iRobot owner Colin Angle said that smart home systems can significantly be improved once data from actual home environments are analyzed. He was talking specifically about mapped floor plans gathered by iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaners.
Angle claimed they could have an agreement with Google, Apple, and Amazon in the coming years, but the three companies declined to comment on this issue.
The plan has privacy advocates concerned, stating that information taken from a customer’s home should be treated as private data. Moreover, they think it is a frightening example of how companies subvert privacy rights for profit.
Angle stated that they will make sure to get consent from customers. He is confident many users will be open to giving access to their data.
Source: The Guardian
