Home-device privacy policies extract biometric and audio data from entire households

Evidence

A dense, twelve-page privacy policy accompanies the bed. Customers are advised that providing information is an affirmation of consent to use that information in-line with the policy, which employs the usual onerous terms: third-party sharing, Google analytics, targeted advertising, and much more. In addition, if customers create a user profile to maximize the effectiveness of the app, the company also collects “biometric and sleep-related data about how You, a Child, and any person that uses the Bed slept, such as that person’s movement, positions, respiration, and heart rate while sleeping.” It also collects all the audio signals in your bedroom. As with most such policies, customers are advised that the company can “share” or “exploit” personal information even “after You deactivate or cancel the Services and/or your Sleep Number account or User Profiles(s).” — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 741

Categorization

• SHARE: Send to someone who owns a smart home device or works in privacy law — the twelve-page mattress policy capturing a household’s sleep and bedroom audio is a striking concrete example.
• XREF: connects to: Smart-home IoT devices enroll consumers in surveillance-based markets without knowledge or consent — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 751; Smart home devices claim a limitless scope of domestic activities for rendition — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 814; Connected toys systematically extract children’s personal data and conversations via bundled apps — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 828 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Smart-home IoT devices enroll consumers in surveillance-based markets without knowledge or consent #corroborates (0.88) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 751
• Connected toys systematically extract children’s personal data and conversations via bundled apps #exemplifies (0.85) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 828
• Privacy policies function as surveillance policies in practice #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 782
• Automated data environments override mutual expectations and unsettle liberal privacy #corroborates (0.78) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 560
• Smart home devices claim a limitless scope of domestic activities for rendition #corroborates (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 814
• Smart-home device spending is exploding alongside surveillance capability #qualifies (0.72) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 749