Germany’s national telecommunications agency, the Federal Network Agency, on Friday banned the sale of children’s smartwatches and advised parents to destroy any devices they may currently have. The watches were classified as “prohibited listening devices” by the agency, which said these devices could be used by parents to listen to their children without their knowledge.
While the agency did not mention security concerns in its announcement, it comes nearly a month after the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) issued a report citing privacy and safety concerns with many of the smartwatch manufacturers. In its report, published last month by the Norwegian Consumer Council, the BEUC warned parents these devices may have vulnerabilities that could make stealing data or hacking the device relatively easy. The organization even found one of the smartwatches providing unencrypted location information to servers in China.
Children’s smart devices, such as smartwatches, cameras, and other toys, are internet-enabled devices that capture and transmit data to third-parties. The watches frequently use cameras, microphones and GPS trackers to allow parents to track their children in real time. If this data is not properly transmitted or stored, however, attackers could use this information to track and contact children without their parent’s consent.
Smartwatches are not the first children’s device to be prohibited by the Federal Network Agency. Earlier this year, the agency banned the My Friend Cayla smart doll over fears the device could be hacked and children’s data illegally collected.
Although German authorities banned children’s smartwatches, the U.S. is being more conservative, issuing a public service announcement earlier this year. The announcement, issued by the FBI, warned children’s smart devices can “record and collect conversations within earshot of the device. Information such as the child’s name, school, like and dislikes, and activities may be disclosed through normal conversation with the toy or in the surrounding environment.”
The FBI urges parents to use the devices with caution and examine user agreements and privacy practices, as well as know where their data will be stored.. It also urges parents to ensure devices are turned off when not in use.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.