North Dakota, Your Gadgets Have Secrets—Here’s How to Take Control

Picture this: you're settling in from the cold, ready to watch your favorite show on your smart TV or cooking up some crispy chicken nuggets in the air fryer. But guess what North Dakota? Those devices might be doing more than keeping you entertained and well-fed—they could be eavesdropping on you.

Researchers from a British consumer magazine recently did some digging and found that several popular smart gadgets might be spying on users and even sending personal data to places like China.

They looked at air fryers, smart speakers, TVs, and smartwatches, ranking each one across six key categories: consent, transparency, data security, data minimization, trackers, and data deletion.

The findings? Not great. The report says that many smart tech companies, along with the firms they work with, are scooping up data from users left and right, often with little or no transparency about how it’s being done.

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Samsung’s smart TVs got the lowest privacy score, and other low scorers included popular devices like the Google Nest Mini, the Huawei Ultimate smartwatch, and the Cosori air fryer.

How to Improve Your Data Privacy

With privacy concerns on the rise, here are some practical tips from Which? on how to better control your data:

1. Care About What You Share
   During device setup, you might notice some data collection is optional. Consider opting out of any non-essential data sharing—though this may limit certain features.
2. Check Permissions
   On both iOS and Android, review permission requests when downloading an app, and check each app’s access in your settings. Limiting these permissions can restrict the data apps collect.
3. Deny Access
   In your device’s settings, you can limit or deny access to data like location, contacts, or your camera. Although this might affect some app functions, it helps protect your privacy.
4. Delete Recordings
   If you use voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant, adjust the settings to delete recordings automatically after a period. This reduces the chances of old data being stored indefinitely.
5. Read the Privacy Notice
   Privacy policies may be dense, but skim through sections on data collection. Knowing what data is collected can help you make informed decisions, and you also have the right to object to certain data processing practices.

By following these steps, you can help ensure that your smart devices are serving you without unnecessarily invading your privacy. Taking a few precautions can keep your data closer to home.

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