Consumers are holding off on buying smart-home gadgets thanks to security and privacy fears

[ad_1]

Amazon’s Echo Show, one of
a burgeoning number of smart-home gadgets.Matt Weinberger/Business Insider

• Consumers are more cautious about smart-home devices
  than other Internet of Things gadgets, a new survey
  found.
• Consumers’ hesitation about connected-home devices
  stems from concerns about privacy and security.
• Few of those surveyed felt gadget makers were doing a
  good job of informing them about the security risks posed by
  the devices.
  

Lots of different Internet of Things devices are catching on with
consumers, from smart watches to connected cars.

But there’s one set of such gadgets that many consumers are
resisting — smart home devices.

Consumers are uneasy about being watched, listened to, or tracked
by devices they place in their homes, consulting firm Deloitte
found in a new survey it released Wednesday. Thanks to such
discomfort, consumer interest in connected home home technology
lags behind their interest in other types of IoT devices,
Deloitte found.

“Consumers are more open to, and interested in, the connected
world,” the firm said in its report. Noting the concerns about
smart home devices, it added: “But not all IoT is created equal.”

Nearly 40% of those who participated in the survey said they were
concerned about connected-home devices tracking their usage. More
than 40% said they were worried that such gadgets would expose
too much about their daily lives.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of consumers think gadget makers
weren’t doing a good job of telling them about security risks.
Fewer than 20% of survey respondents said they were very well
informed about such risks and almost 40% said they weren’t
informed at all.

Some recent high-profile incidents have given consumers cause for
caution about smart-home devices. British security researcher
Mark Barnes demonstrated
earlier this year that it was possible to hack an Amazon Echo
smart speaker to  listen to what’s going on in an owner’s
house. And last month, a reporter with a review unit of one of
Google’s new smart speakers
discovered the device was recording him without his
permission.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)