I thought this was mentioned somewhere before, but couldn’t locate it...that might have just been about linking Ring to the local police.

Anyway...

” Amazon Sidewalk will link smart home devices such as Alexa, Echo and Ring to a shared networking system that will enable them to connect beyond the range of a standard home wi-fi network.“

“Starting on Tuesday, June 8, these devices will be automatically opted-in to contribute a portion of their internet bandwidth to create a shared network with neighboring smart devices.“


Here’s a concise explanation, and how to opt out:

https://www.wfsb.com/news/your-amazon-d ... 0e603.html

Another reason why I have NOTHING Alexa in my house. I have one smart TV that has voice controls, and that feature has been disabled.

To each their own. They've had the Sidewalk 'feature' in the Alexa app for many months. They also sent notifications about it coming. I opted out from the get-go. I'm not sharing my network with anyone. The same reason I own my own network gear, so Xfinity doesn't get to share it for me either.

I never understood why people would want those useless gadgets in the first place.
Oh, wait... maybe because modern slaves like to believe that they have their own slaves too (gadgets)?

Auto-opt in? Fuck that. Didn't they learn from the negative press on Windows WIFI sense when Win 8 first launched? Guess they need a drop in sales.

if I get an Echo Dot from the vax drawing I'm gonna shoot it

if this was a decent state we'd get Aero Precision in on the giveaway but no, this is the bad place, and we got Amazon

Disabling the Voice feature on my Smart TV now....and screw that Alexa crap.

Yep, same with Ring doorbell.

Another article in the Washington Post (Bezos-owned rag) actually calls out concerns over this, too, and goes more in-depth. It was printed in the Seattle Times, as well.

It goes on to say this about Xfinity:

“The routers that Comcast puts in our homes automatically double as hotspots for other Xfinity customers, though they create a separate Wi-Fi network for the public traffic.”

So, the devices have had this installed since at least 2018....I guess that’s why there are always ‘deals’ on them, X-mas, Black Friday, every holiday, and even right now, ‘pre-Prime Day’ sale....to get it in as many homes as possible.

Makes me wonder what is surreptitiously planted in the newer stuff....

Re: Amazon To Allow Others To Use Your WiFi Via Their Devices

I believe that is called theft.

Unless they are paying for your wifi...

Nope. Because YOU agreed to it by not opting out. The burden is on the consumer to read all end-user agreements. As long as those cocksuckers put it in the small print somewhere it's all on you.

I don't have the option..

Click on "More" in the lower right hand corner.

It should be there.

Hiding things way down in the fine print.

Making it next to impossible to figure out how to fix it once you DO find out about it...

Those are still the actions of a thief, as far as I am concerned. A liar, a thief, a crook.