Google announces the establishment of a new security center for Nest users
The new security center touches some critical areas of smart home devices.
As technology companies ship devices equipped with different sensors and methods of recording data, the constant threat of privacy violations will only worsen. The Security Center is an initiative to maintain the trust of Nest users during this period. Having a home full of various cameras and microphones is not without problems.
Technical specifications and transparency statement
First of all, Google will notify the user which recording components involved in the Nest device are transparent. If there are any cameras, microphones, or other sensors, Google will indicate to customers. Google said it would tell customers whether the sensor is active.
The company also stated that it would tell customers the type of data sent to the company. Google said it would provide examples of these data. Therefore, if your data must be sent to the company, you can know precisely what is being sent.
Camera and microphone
Google said that it would indeed send footage to the company, but only if someone has explicitly enabled the features that need to be done. One feature that does this is Nest Cam Monitor. If you do not wish to send any footage to the company, please check and see if you have selected the video.
If the camera is used for any reason, Google says it will always give instructions through visual cues. Usually, it will be the LED on the device. If the material is stored on the device or the cloud, you will have full access to it, and you can delete it at any time.
The video will be shared with a third-party company that cooperates with Google. However, Google stated that the video would only be shared with the user’s permission.
microphone
When it comes to microphones, the situation is similar. Google said it would only send audio back to the company when it detects someone interacting with the assistant. If some function requires a microphone, it will also send back audio.
Like the camera, there will be a visual cue indicating when it is active. If you don’t want to turn on the microphone, you can choose to turn it off. You can also delete any audio stored in your Google account.
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