Amazon Sidewalk.
Wow! I haven't been this torn over a privacy issue in a while.
On the one hand you have the concern some have that RF chips in many Amazon & Ring devices have been surreptitiously installed into those devices for the last couple of years without anyone bringing light to it.
We now know that they were installed to build the Sidewalk infrastructure in preparation for its release. I'm not sure if the RF transmitters can only operate on 900MHz or if they're capable of higher bandwidths, thus longer distances.
That coupled with the fact that Amazon opts you IN to Sidewalk by default leads some to give credence to those that see this technology as another way for Governments to keep tabs on or track citizens.
PROS AND CONS
The Touted Pros:
- Devices like dog trackers and safety pendants for the elderly would make great use of this network. (when "community finding" is turned on)
- Allowing those devices to get OTA firmware & security updates as soon as they're available even if the tag is roaming the neighborhood.
- A stopgap measure to allow IoT devices to connect while roaming before the full-scale roll-out of 5G is completed several years from now.
- It will use a very small (80Kb is what I heard), ultra secure (many layers of encryption is promised) slice of your bandwidth by limiting the types and size of data on the system. It can't be used for web browsing, texting, video or audio streaming or other common user consumption tasks.
The Concerning Cons:
- Hackers. This WILL get hacked. If they can bridge the gap between RF and the WiFi radio in the Amazon/Ring devices, hackers could, theoretically, gain access to your WiFi network.
- Privacy concerns, and this is a deep rabbit hole that we'll only peek at later on in the post.
- No matter how little bandwidth is being used, you're paying for it. A few Kb here and a few there builds a totally free network Amazon can exploit to sell products and services under the guise of community "participation".
- They tout it as a "Free service" which typically means you or your freely provided bandwidth are the product.
Further, it is said that location tracking will not identify individual Echo/Ring devices nor the address that is reporting the tracked device. It's supposed to give a general location on a street.
Here's a weird gotcha:
Pet/people tracking is part of "Community Finding" which is a separate toggle from Sidewalk and is TURNED OFF by default. This is odd to me. The big example benefit is FOR "Community Finding" tasks which is OFF by default while Sidewalk is ON by default.
I'm torn. As a technologist, I see the positive uses of Sidewalk and innovation like this IS the future and will mature when 5G is the norm. The professional IT expert in me sees the possible dangers. I am cynical to the point where I could be persuaded to believe that government contracts with Big Tech could give them the ability to use a network like this to gather voice and video data about individuals and making tracking even easier than it is now. I don't want to believe that but I'd be naïve not to consider it possible.
Personally, I have chosen to disable Sidewalk, at least for now. It's my standard policy to NOT be on the bleeding edge in my live work or home environments. I do have test environments where I play/learn about the latest tech in a safe and sandboxed way, but it's what I do for a living. For the average user, in my case my family and users at work, I suggest they disable it to start but to educate themselves and make a final decision based on their comfort level after researching it.
Ultimately, the life expectancy of Sidewalk will be determined by how many people learn about, understand and care about the service and how many will object and be bother enough to disable it.
We'll revisit this is a year or two and see how it went.
What do you think? Let's talk below.
HOW-TO: Disable Sidewalk using the Alex App on your mobile device:
Open the Alex app. Tap More - Settings - Account Settings - Amazon Sidewalk
Amazon Sidewalk will only show up if you have a compatible device linked to your Amazon account.
StandardNerd-Worthy Links:
2019 Amazon quietly announces Sidewalk and hints to future plans to use 900MHz for 0.5mile+ range
June 2021 - Rob Braxman Tech - YT Video showing the possible dark uses of Sidewalk
June 2021 - HAK5's take on Sidewalk
There are so many videos on YT about sidewalk. My recommendation is to find creators you trust or to watch videos made by credible IT news services. The general news outlets tend to get tech wrong, or at least only partially correct. Look for technology news outlets.
