this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2025
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An engineer got curious about how his iLife A11 smart vacuum worked and monitored the network traffic coming from the device. That’s when he noticed it was constantly sending logs and telemetry data to the manufacturer — something he hadn't consented to. The user, Harishankar, decided to block the telemetry servers' IP addresses on his network, while keeping the firmware and OTA servers open. While his smart gadget worked for a while, it just refused to turn on soon after. After a lengthy investigation, he discovered that a remote kill command had been issued to his device.

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[–] aceshigh@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (11 children)

As a layman, can someone explain what the ramifications of smart devices sharing your data is. I know it’s bad, but I don’t understand why it’s bad and how it’s used against you.

[–] underisk@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

Email me the blueprints to your house, your address, name, and your favorite hobbies and I will tell you the answer.

[–] Lvdwsn@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You might get some snarky comments, but the way I envision it is that the fuller of a picture companies can get of you (when you’re running a vacuum, when you’re driving, when your lights are on and off, etc.) the more data they have to try and run predictive analytics on your behavior and that can be used in a variety of ways that may or may not benefit you. At this point it’s mostly just to get you to buy things they think you’ll buy, but what happens when your profile starts to match up with someone who commits crimes? Maybe you get harassed by the authorities a little more often? Generally the lack of consent around how the data is collected and how it’s used is the problem most people have.

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[–] Rhoeri@lemmy.world -2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This shit is two months old. How many times is it going to recirculate?

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[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, mine has it. I have to go into the app once a week and manually delete it.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org -1 points 2 days ago

Smart vaccuum that needs an app to use. Are we really this stupid, everyone?

[–] stiffyGlitch@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago (2 children)

what...? how much money did that Roomba cost for him to spend that much time and effort on recoding it?!

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[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca -3 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Play stupid games win stupid prizes.

I have a standard vacuum. I spend about 10 minutes a day vacuuming. Miele has no telemetry whatsoever lol

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I spend about 10 minutes a day vacuuming

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 day ago

Yes and the point being spending 300$+ to eliminate 10 minutes a day is absolutely hilarious.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 2 days ago

I gotta say, I've never really found the appeal of the self-propelled vacuum cleaners. They're incredibly finicky and prone to getting snagged on surfaces. They don't have particularly good suction and their waste storage is minimal. Tons of moving parts that wear through easily over time. Belts, fans, and wheels all get worn away from the device's heat and exhaustive regular use.

The time savings is minimal and the expense is extraordinary. I just don't think its worth the trouble.

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[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 2 days ago (3 children)

That's like a month old news article

No one should be outraged. That is how all robovacs are working - use LIDAR to map area -> send back to server -> server calculates optimal cleaning route -> sends back info to vac -> vac cleans. Vac cant ping back to server - server thinks vac is dead. No killswitch is needed.

Also, app is not a necessity except we are forced to use it. But many would not like to lose an ability to track progress or start and stop cleaning from their phone outside of the home network. For these features, app and external server is a must.

The only real issue with robo vacs is that it is an IoT device. We should make manufacturers and brands to let us choose if we want to selfhost their software. But that would never happen.

This article IMO is full of bs and ragebait.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca 0 points 1 day ago

Pretty much everything you said is incorrect, except for the article age. Valetudo literally wrote software that does this on multiple models locally, including mapping. The response of the manufacturers whose models were capable of this was to release new versions where this wasn't an option. As for servers and local control, there are a number of solutions for those with the knowledge and hardware to set it up, and the only thing stopping robovac companies from supporting this is (less) money.

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