Amazon US Customers Given One Week To Opt Out Of Mass Wireless Sharing (Echo and Ring)

businessnewsindex ^ | On Jun 1, 2021

[DaveArk]

I turned mine off.

[Rio]

hmm.. how could one know for sure?

[SeaDragon]

So if I don’t have Alexa or Echo this Sidewalk doesn’t apply even though I have Ring cams? When I select Sidewalk in my Ring settings, there is no option to opt out.

[dennisw]

“Xfinity has been doing it for quite a while on their routers as well. If you rent one from them it automatically sets up a hot spot that others can use. Wall to wall internet. It’s why I bought my own cable modem/router.”

Thanks. I did not know this. I am w Xfinity and have my own router. I pay for 100mbs but was getting much lower. I thought I would need to buy a newer router. So...... I unplugged my router and modem for 20 minutes. Plugged back in. Now I get my 100mbs.

[rxh4n1]

Does this mean my neighbor can set up and mooch off my wireless and not need to pay for his own?

[Scrambler Bob]

It is still sitting in the box unopened.
= = =

Might be good to have it in a Faraday Cage.

Can’t trust most anything.

[dennisw]

“Does this mean my neighbor can set up and mooch off my wireless and not need to pay for his own?”

No. But Amazon will network you with other Ring and Echo users nearby. The reason why is in the article.

[dennisw]

Definitely move that thing to a Faraday cage just to be sure. After you fire a few bullets into it.

[M Kehoe]

Skynet?

5.56mm

[M Kehoe]

Never mind, the whole damn thing, from the NSA to the TSA is self aware. They are watching what I type...

Pray that the missliers in their silos, the B52s on alert and the Boomers in the sea don’t go, Boom!

5.56mm

[rickomatic]

It does say how to disable it, but at least, on my iPhone there is no sidewalk in the account settings to disable.

[minnesota_bound]

I know a person at work that has 8 siri devices in her home... 8!

Her friend who lives in NJ and her (lives in Calif) were talking and after the call the friend could still hear her thru Siri that she had. She called up her friend on the phone and told her.

Your smart tv is listening if you have a internet cable plugged in and seeing you if it has a camera. So is your cell phone.....

I remember in 1988 I had arrived in Calif and was using a motel 6 payphone outside the office and feeding it quarters. I told the person I was talking to that I only had this amount left in quarters. A voice spoke up who was not suppose to be part of the conversation and said to deposit that amount and it would pay for so many minutes....

[chickenlips]

To disable it on a Ring system, go into the Ring app or your Ring online account, find the “Control Center” listing, open it and scroll down until you find the “Amazon Sidewalk” listing, open it and set the button to the disabled position.

[Swordmaker]

”Amazon is not the first company to look to create such a network. Apple has taken a similar approach with the company’s range of AirTag item trackers, which can connect to the internet through any compatible iPhone they come into contact with, not simply their owner’s.”

Wait. What?

Sending a unique code BlueTooth sign from the AirPods saying “Here I am” is not the same as acting as a WIFI hotspot for every Tom, Dick, and Harry who comes around and wants to hack into your home WIFI. The AirPods are not creating a network.

[Swordmaker]

Re: AirPods equal AirTags. My old brain farting.

[dennisw]

I must be slipping! Sorry for not pinging.

[Lockbox]

Thank you, found it in the App. Saved a phone call. Love how Amazon is giving you 10 days to Opt Out. Really! How about an Opt In choice? How about paying me for my internet use?

[chickenlips]

So what happens when you buy a new amazon device now? Is there going to be an opt out available? Amazon needs to be broken into tiny little harmless pieces. If the pubbies had any cojones they would fight to pass a bill that Amazon and any other company has to pay you to use part of your bandwidth.