Technology

55919 readers

3149 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

313

Your washing machine could be sending 3.7 GB of data a day — LG washing machine owner disconnected his device from Wi-Fi after noticing excessive outgoing daily data traffic (www.tomshardware.com)

submitted 6 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/technology@lemmy.world

216 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

My washing machine has wi-fi. I didn't buy it for that reason, but it just happens to. Using the app

So you did not just connect it to your home wifi, but you also allowed the vendor to connect it to their servers. Now the vendor knows the name of your WiFi and the password. Just to begin with. Next year maybe this vendor's website will get hacked and 20000 such wifi passwords go public in some darknet :-)

Using the app, I have some programme options that aren't possible to select using the hardware dials.

Who benefits? You may find it cool to have it in the app, but FIRST the vendor has saved some of their money by not building the needed dials and buttons for these functions. (Or did they give you that discount? ;-))

And maybe in 3 years from now, they don't feel like maintaining your app anymore. Are you going to shout "WARRANTY" at them?

I just can't see the big downside here (other than the fact that the machine is more complicated than it needs to be

Yes, that is a downside, too. Part of this 'smartness' could break and maybe even the whole thing stops working when these 'diagnostics' give false data.

Another huge point is: My washing machines so far have lasted between 8 - 15 years. But NEVER has any wifi-active device lived that long. Think about this difference, and who's the one who benefits from it?