Lifewire October 15, 2020 – Google’s New Thermostat: Same Look, New Privacy Concerns

Information Vacuum

The Nest is likely to be collecting more data than many users realize, experts say. One of NEST’s big selling points is its learning ability.

“For it to properly learn habits and behaviors, we have to share location data with it,” Steve Tcherchian, Chief Information Security Officer at XYPRO Technology Corporation, said in an email interview. “Not only does the NEST thermostat know the physical location it’s installed, but for it to function properly, it needs to know where you physically are.

“It does this by accessing location data from your phone. For example, it can then determine how far away you are from home so it can turn on your A/C or heater before you get [home].”

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