A recent study by Which? has raised concerns that certain air fryers may be spying on their owners.
According to the report, apps linked to two popular air fryer brands appear to require permissions that allow them to listen to conversations and share data with third parties, including TikTok.
The tech magazine Trend reports that one of these air fryers, sold by popular brand Xiaomi, is linked to tracking software from Facebook, TikTok’s ad platform Pangle, and Chinese tech giant Tencent.
Meanwhile, an air fryer from Aigostar, another Chinese brand, even requested users’ gender and birthdate when setting up an account—although this information was optional, The Sun reports.
The Which? report sheds light on the increasing privacy risks associated with smart devices. Often, users quickly accept app permissions without realizing the extent of data they’re sharing.
Researchers found that these apps collect far more data than necessary for the device to function. For example, the apps requested access to users’ precise location and the ability to record audio on their phones.
The report suggests this extensive data collection could be used for third-party marketing purposes, as both Aigostar and Xiaomi were found to be sending users’ data to servers in China.
Although this practice was mentioned in the privacy policy, most users do not read these documents thoroughly.
This means that your air fryer could potentially be listening to everything said in your kitchen—and passing that data on to others.
