From the article:
The consumer champion Which? found companies appear to be gathering far more data than is needed for products to function. This includes smart TVs that ask for users’ viewing habits and a smart washing machine that requires people’s date of birth. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: “Consumers have already paid for smart products, in some cases thousands of pounds, so it is excessive that they have to continue to ‘pay’ with their personal information.”
Why would anyone connect an appliance to the internet?
I had the same thought when the salesman tried to convince me to buy a smart washer and dryer. Why do I need to be able to control them with my smartphone? Someone would still need to be present to load/empty them so then they can also turn it on.
Some people see a product described as ‘smart’ and their common sense immediately leaves their body.
It’s absurd. Obviously some devices “need” it, like smart doorbells and the like, but I’ll die a painful death before I connect my TV or refrigerator to the internet.
Hell, I want a garage door opener that I can monitor remotely, but I’m not willing to compromise my home’s security just because I second-guess myself on occasion.
So apart from annying peeping sounds when the cleaning is done, you will also get an annoying notification with statisctics of how much water was used and how much CO2 you used sent to your email.