The dark side of smart devices: Is convenience costing us?

Smart devices entered the market with bold promises of unmatched convenience, control, and functionality. With the popularity of smart homes on the rise, there's no denying that this tech is here to stay. And why wouldn't it be? These devices are undoubtedly convenient to use and offer legitimately practical features like voice activation, remote control, and monitoring. However—as with any form of technology—despite the numerous benefits, it's necessary to recognize the risks and potential issues associated with smart devices. Do the pros actually outweigh the cons or is this tech more trouble than it's worth?

The appeal of smart technology

The proliferation of smart devices is a natural consequence of this era of hyper digitalization. The convenience and control offered by smart devices—we're talking automation capabilities, autonomous decision-making, and, once again, remote control—are legitimately beneficial to a consumer.

For example, you could own a fridge with automatic temperature regulation that can send you notifications when it detects faults or even food spoilage. And with its remote control capabilities, you can make changes to the cooling mode and temperature even when you're not at home. Now take this example and apply it to a wide range of devices like cars, washing machines, air conditioners, and more, all working towards making your life that much easier. Is it any surprise why smart devices are everywhere?

It's not all sunshine and rainbows

Now on to the not-so-fun stuff. Firstly, digitalization adds an additional layer of complexity to your devices. Increased complexity equals increased risk of failure.

Most commercially available smart home devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home require an internet connection to enable their advanced remote control, data processing, and storage capabilities. When you're using cloud-based devices like these, there's always a risk that the device becomes completely unusable or you lose certain features due to internet issues or outages on the vendor's cloud servers—or the eventual end of support, like what Google recently announced is happening to early Nest models.

Even more worrying are the privacy concerns. These service providers are constantly collecting data about your usage of these devices. Now, when we're talking about appliances like smart fridges, washing machines, or air conditioners, data collection isn't a major concern because the data generated by these devices isn't particularly sensitive.

However, when you bring security cameras, voice assistants, and other home IoT platforms with multiple interconnected devices into the picture, the vast amounts of data being collected in this case are undoubtedly a cause for concern. There's potential for misuse either by the service provider itself or a very real risk of your data being compromised by a breach. Plus, most big tech companies have a questionable history with data privacy, so there's no way to be one hundred percent certain that your data is safe.

The local versus cloud conundrum

If you are worried about your privacy, you could consider a locally controlled smart home device. These devices store and process data locally, meaning you have complete control over your data. There's no need to worry about internet connectivity issues causing any disruptions, either. The only trade-off is: these devices are nowhere near as advanced or feature-rich as their cloud-based counterparts.

Smart devices... as-a-service?

Another issue brought about by the introduction of smart devices is the monetization of certain features. It's already a thing, too, with several service providers launching subscription plans for specific features. This could end up snowballing to a point where we're expected to pay a subscription for even basic features that would otherwise be included in the base package, as more vendors begin to explore the SHaaS (Smart home as a service) model.

When BMW took things too far

A famous recent example of a company implementing a subscription service for what should be a base feature is BMW charging an additional subscription fee for heated seats. While they did eventually capitulate to public backlash and discontinue this subscription model, the very fact that they were willing to try this out in the first place is something that should worry the average consumer. Once you get the ball of subscription models rolling, there really isn't any going back.

Mercedes Benz is also experimenting with a subscription model for increased performance. And while they do offer a one-time payment option, this sets a dangerous precedent where companies start charging a subscription fee for features we've come to expect from our devices. Companies are always testing their customers' tolerance for unfair practices. You just need to look at the current state of the streaming services industry where you're forced to view unskippable ads, even on paid subscription tiers. How long before unfair practices become the norm—all thanks to smart devices?

Maybe smart isn't always better

Of course, smart devices aren't all bad; they represent an evolution in home device technology, an evolution that can certainly make our lives easier. However, it's important to recognize existing flaws and potential negative trends, especially since this tech is in its relatively early stages. While consumers may not have direct control over the decisions made by corporate higher ups, it is still possible to effect positive change when we stand up against unfair practices, like in BMW's case. It's up to us to ensure that the introduction of smart devices does not end up opening a Pandora's box of unfair corporate practices involving the security of our homes.