Is Your Robot Vacuum Spying on You? Plus, Claims of Racism Unveiled!

Several American users of the Ecovacs Deebot X2 robot vacuums experienced an unsettling surprise. Their devices have gone beyond just cleaning floors—they may also be unintentionally spying on users, or even worse.

A Creepy Remote Takeover

Robot vacuums are not only handy for cleaning your floors, but it seems they can also turn into little spies without your knowledge. Security researchers have demonstrated that these robots can be hacked remotely, sometimes from over 100 meters away. Even more alarming? Some hackers have taken to using the onboard cameras to peek into the homes of some owners. Worse, they can take complete remote control of the vacuum, and even broadcast messages through its speakers. This hardly provides the peace of mind expected from a device meant to make life easier.

The Ecovacs Deebot X2 in question

Security Concerns

In addition to helping with house cleaning, many robot vacuums collect a vast amount of data about you: photos, videos, and voice recordings. The problem is that users are not always aware of this data collection. For instance, by signing up for the improvement program via the Ecovacs app, they unknowingly grant access to this sensitive information. And even if you think you’ve deleted these data, they might still be lingering on the manufacturer’s servers. Your robot might know your house better than you do.

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Photo of my own cat sleeping, taken by my robot vacuum, which remains well-behaved (for now)

Hacked and Abusive Robots?

The situation gets even stranger with these reported incidents in the United States. Several users have reported that their Deebot was hacked, and it started shouting racist insults at them, or chasing their pets. Yes, you read that correctly. Behind these incidents lie security flaws such as easily bypassed PIN systems or poorly secured Bluetooth connections. Fortunately, you can always press the off button in these situations, but it’s still quite disturbing and worrisome. I hope my Roborock S8 Max V Ultra doesn’t pull any stunts like this.

A Solution on the Horizon

In response to this series of incidents, Ecovacs has announced a security update scheduled for November 2024. They claim their robots will be safer, so things should get back to normal. Until then, if you own a Deebot X2, keep an eye on it, or rather, make sure it isn’t keeping an eye on you.

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