Experts are warning owners of smart devices monitoring their behaviors should accept that some of their privacy will be lost. Professor Will Stewart of the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology said that privacy loss was a vital part of some gadgets.
Prof Stewart’s comments come after the Samsung Smart TV became the subject of controversy, with the company warning users not to discuss personal issues in front of it when a voice activation feature was turned on.
Samsung admitted that anything recorded would be sent across the internet to work out what the person said, though it also said that audio wouldn’t be retained or sold on. Some smart TV owners have expressed concern about losing key features after failing to agree to manufacturer’s privacy policies.
The professor said that, although people shouldn’t be too concerned about the Samsung case, it did give a worrying insight into what future televisions may do with personal information as they become smarter and smarter. He said: “Upcoming services, like live translation, do involve wider data sharing and people should be aware of this”.
Prof Stewart also said that people would be forced to surrender some private information in the future. “Many more ordinary services like locate-your-friends and car tracking to reduce insurance costs do involve some intrinsic loss of privacy”. He described privacy loss as “progressive” and said that greater intrusions were likely. A 2014 survey showed that public confidence in privacy was at an all-time low.
