DAE think about who owns your home data after a smart thermostat install?

I just swapped out my old thermostat for a learning one that adjusts the temp on its own. It saves money, but I keep wondering if the company could sell my schedule info to advertisers (that feels wrong). What if future systems use this data to charge more for power during my busy times? It's a weird ethical hole to fall into during a simple weekend project.

4 comments

4 Comments

wells.zara1mo ago

You mentioned companies selling your schedule to advertisers, but it's usually worse. They don't sell the raw data, they use it to build a profile on you so they can target ads themselves. Check your privacy settings, a lot of them let you opt out of some data sharing. Have you ever actually read the terms of service for one of those things?

diana5121mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, the whole internet feels like a giant ad trap built on our personal info these days.

the_elliot1mo ago

Actually it's a bit more sneaky than just selling your schedule. They build these shadow profiles where they guess stuff about you based on what your friends do. Like if your buddy searches for hiking gear, you might start seeing backpack ads too. The real creep factor is when they connect your offline purchases to your online identity through loyalty cards. That's how they know you bought cat food and then hit you with litter ads everywhere.

the_matthew1mo ago

Felt the same panic after setting up my smart lights. I spent an hour in the privacy menu and shut off everything labeled 'marketing' or 'analytics'. Now it only runs on local control for automations, which seems safer. Why do they bury these options so deep anyway?