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Serious question, remembering when locks were just physical keys

I was putting in a new smart lock last weekend, and it got me thinking. Back in the day, a lock was just a piece of metal you turned with a key. Now, these things track when you come and go, and that data gets sent somewhere. In my experience, that's handy for knowing if the kids got home safe, but who else is seeing that info? Your mileage may vary, but it feels like we're trading privacy for convenience. I had to dig through the app settings to see what it was sharing, and it wasn't clear. Makes you wonder how much control we really have over our own homes. Just my view, but I'm starting to miss the simplicity of a plain old deadbolt.

3 comments

3 Comments

ericmason28d ago

My Schlage app logs exact timestamps for every entry. That data pipeline to the manufacturer's server feels like a one way street. What happens if they change their privacy policy next year and you're already locked into their system?

king.mia27d ago

Back when I had a Schlage lock, I used a Zigbee hub to keep logs local. @ericmason, that way you control the data even if their policy changes.

julia_miller2423d ago

My old smart lock sent my entry times to a server in another country. Honestly, I just picture some bored intern seeing I came home at 2:17 AM and judging my life choices.