Privacy, Smart Devices, their T&Cs, CHOICE testing & reviews of them

That’s a fairly old article, Brendan, but very relevant when you consider some of the laws that have been passed in Australia over the last couple of years.

An even older article from The Conversation discusses how police use data from mobile phone stations - which can roughly identify where you are at a specific point in time based upon what tower your phone is connecting to.

In the US, a warrant is now required to access such records - but Google may well be telling authorities everywhere you have been over the last ten years. Additionally, as described in that link, US authorities are using Geo-fencing warrants to discover everyone who was in a particular vicinity at the time of an alleged crime.

It is a shame Australia does not have even the basic pretence of protections that the US has put in place.

And of course, if you are at least thankful that your favourite messaging app is encrypted:

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Govt & Law enforcement usage of Google

This following one may also worry us a little as the US stats from the previous link could be inflated due to the MLATs https://ngm.com.au/australias-bilateral-mutual-assistance-relationships/

How marketing sees Google

Something to think about in regard to all of this

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Link to my post in Smart Speakers Review topic on the site:

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Whilst analysing the performance of our solar & battery system after reading posts in the Choice Community article below, I opened an article regarding LG Solar I had bookmarked in Chrome.

I opened the article below with Chrome when browsing Nine.com today.

At the top of the page was this ad for LG Solar.

What an absolute co-incidence as I had not searched anything for LG but merely opened a book-marked link.

OK Folks. Move along. Nothing to see here. And remember Big Brother is watching you.

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On a broader point, home PV solar systems commonly offer services that utilise cloud monitoring and or apps that link through the internet to mobile phones.

To do so the app needs access to the cloud service, while the connected inverters need home access to the internet through the home networking. The apps and services like all such software are provided by the inverter manufacturers. One well known inverter manufacturer hosts it’s cloud based monitoring services with a (.hk) web address, Hong Kong.

P.s.
A further concern is the extent to which access to inverters through their wireless connections are exposed to hacking?

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Given that you are using Google Chrome, I recommend the uBlock Origin extension as the best available ad- and tracking-blocker. If you want to go less nerdy, Ghostery and Privacy Badger are also quite good - as is AdBlock (although the latter lets in ‘approved’ ads).

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The ACCC’s action against Google somewhat highlights the privacy concerns of our Smart Devices. It is also highlighting the dangers of the T&Cs we agree to when using these devices. The ACCC action has it’s own thread at the moment but I am linking it into this one because of the problems shown in the reasons ACCC has taken action:

We raised the issues as a CHOICE Community back in 2017, perhaps an indication of how we are a bit ahead of the ACCC :slightly_smiling_face:

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A worthwhile addition:

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Apple is updating their iPhone OS to let users know when the camera and the microphone are operating.

https://www.9news.com.au/technology/is-facebook-listening-to-you-apples-next-iphone-software-will-tell-you/46cbd225-3038-4b33-9409-e553d693453f

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Sorry, but I avoid that website so suggest an alternative link:

There are quite a few improvements there.

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Some of that stuff mus only relate to iPhones X and later. My SE2020 doesnt give a list of apps which accessed location (in the Control Center I mean… can still do the usual checks on the list of apps which will show a small arrow)

Any LG Smart TV users out there? They have just cut off my access completely to BritBox (and goodness knows what else) because I won’t agree to the latest batch of T&Cs. I am ropable. All I can access is free to air TV, no streaming services and no on-demand TV such as ABC iView. Surely this is an abrogation of my consumer rights and a clear breach of the conditions under which I bought the TV (in November 2019)?

First, it’s very difficult to read the T&Cs onscreen because of the limitations of the technology. It is even more difficult to withdraw from some but not all clauses. The button that would achieve this is inoperable.

I went to the LG website where more detail is available and of course, they are all one way in LG’s favour. Why would a company manufacturing TVs need to know my date of birth (I probably gave them the wrong one anyway)?. There is no way of easily withdrawing from specific clauses, despite their pious legalese. There are supposed hyperlinks to further details which turn out to be simple underlining.

They are also very coy about how they protect my data in case of cyber attack.

I am sick and tired of businesses assuming my data is their property (eg Bunnings, K-Mart) and they can do what they like with it until the government stops them.

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Hi @daracat, welcome to the community.

After you purchased the TV and initially setup the TV smarts, there would have been terms and conditions in relation to the smart components of the TV and it’s use. To allow the TV smart components to work, you would have agreed to these terms and conditions.

If you change your mind for some reason at a later date, then not agreeing to the smarts T&Cs would revoke your earlier acceptance on the T&Cs, thus disabling the smarts and any other user installed apps on the TV.

In some countries, content and apps use is age restricted. Likewise business which provide apps to use, such as social media which has age restrictions. In such case it is a bit like a bouncer asking for proof of age when entering a alcohol licensed premises.

This is impossible for any T&Cs, unless a business is willing to negotiate and you have legal support in negotiations. T&Cs are something one agrees to when using products or services. Whether it is when purchasing a bicycle, shopping in a store or getting a service.

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Welcome to Australia.

It is very difficult for any business to argue that you gave informed consent to their terms and conditions, especially when there are generally upwards of 10,000 words in total including several links to various other documents. Unfortunately, the legal onus would be on you to prove that your consent was not informed.

Just as a btw, have you read the CHOICE Community guidelines and terms of service? Like every other major website operator, CHOICE has to protect itself with pages of legalese (yes, that word is used in the guidelines). The average person could not operate online or in the real world (you may only enter this shop if…) while reading every piece of legalese that might possibly govern their conduct.

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iPhone’s latest iOS 17 update may for some users have turned on a couple of tracking items that may have been previously disabled by a user for more privacy. Apple state they are looking into the issue and that it wasn’t a deliberate change (it is a bug they say).

News article from Techradar that explains the issue and the current fix for the issues.

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