WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? —
Amazon devices will soon automatically share your Internet with neighbors. Amazon's experiment wireless mesh networking turns users into guinea pigs.
If you have an Amazon Echo Dot, Show or any other Alexa activated device, you have less than a week to opt out of having your internet bandwidth automatically shared by Amazon in a huge mesh network.
On June 8th, unless you opt out by changing your default settings on your Amazon devices; The program known as "Amazon Sidewalk" will share your internet connectivity with those who do not have internet as well as allowing you onto your neighbor's connection.
From the Amazon Sidewalk webpage:
Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that helps devices like Amazon Echo devices, Ring Security Cams, outdoor lights, motion sensors, and Tile trackers work better at home and beyond the front door. When enabled, Sidewalk can unlock unique benefits for your device, support other Sidewalk devices in your community, and even locate pets or lost items.
The benefits of Amazon Sidewalk
Devices in the program include not only Amazon's Echo dots and other smart speakers but Ring doorbells, security cams, Tile Trackers as well as others.
Amazon cites the amount to be shared will be 1/40th of your bandwidth, (80kbps typical internet connection) and will cap the amount of shared bandwidth at 500 MB (megabytes)/month.
Considering that few users ever look at or know how to access the default settings of their devices, expect nearly full coverage.
Amazon has published a white paper detailing the technical underpinnings and service terms that it says will protect the privacy and security of this bold undertaking. To be fair, the paper is fairly comprehensive, and so far no one has pointed out specific flaws that undermine the encryption or other safeguards being put in place. But there are enough theoretical risks to give users pause.
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