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Robot vaccums: Manufacturers and models that protect users' privacy? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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My partner and I are getting a cat and consider getting a robot vacuum cleaner for our apartment to help keep it clean. Up until now, I've been against getting one due to privacy concerns and negative reports about certain manufacturers (e.g., iRobot/Roomba). Now I'm reevaluating, because my partner is sensitive to dust, and regular vacuuming will be a must.

Does anyone have any experience or recommendations about manufacturers or models with a light privacy footprint or good reputation on that front?

I am aware that most robots that actually work will also gather data, and newer models even incorporate photo/video to improve pattern recognition performance. Still, I would be more comfortable with one that does that within reason (e.g., collects as little data as possible, transfers as little as possible to remote servers, encrypts data for transfer and storage).

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

This is really interesting. From your perspective, how risky/difficult is this to set up? I have rooted phones before, but I'm mostly a novice and until now have stayed away from stuff that requires me to solder or interact with circuitry. Seems like this is a common theme in the rooting guides.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Bear in mind that I haven't done it but, as I'll be getting a friend's expert help with soldering, I'm not concerned. Reading the documentation, they appear pretty confident that the rooting will work seamlessly and, from reading other people's experiences, it doesn't sound like there are a lot of issues. It's really assembling the kit to do the work that is the fiddly bit (but there may be pre-made versions around - worth jumping on their Telegram channel) and after that it should be plain sailing.