Picture the scene: Youre gathered with family for the holidays and everyone has opened their gifts.
Your spouse got you that new air fryer youve been eying.
Its the best one on the market, just check that you dont speak aloud when you use it.
Woman preparing food in oil-free fryer.© andreswd via Getty Images.
Confused why you cant talk around your new kitchen gadget, you ask your spouse why.
Well, they say.
Its an air fryer.
You need an app to use it and the app records everything your phone hears.
This is the sad reality of air fryers and hundreds of other consumer products today.
A November report from U.K. consumer advocacy group Which?detailedsome of the worst offenders.
The group looked at the top-rated air fryers on Amazon and studied the privacy risks around them.
Your air fryer, in fact, may know more about you than some of your friends do.
The results were dire across the board.
Most of us know this.
Weve accepted it as part of living in a modern world.
There are ways around it, of course.
you could use aPi-Holeor similar equipment to re-route data collection or avoid using apps.
The safest option is to opt out entirely and never use smart devices at all.
But it shouldnt be this way.
More people are pissed about this issue and complaining to their government.
Watchdog groups in the U.K. and the U.S. are paying attention.
The ICO is working on new guidance for manufacturers of smart products which will be published in spring 2025.
Our guidance will allow manufacturers to plan and invest in the use of information responsibly.
The CFPBs proposed rule will curtail these practices that threaten our personal safety and undermine Americas national security.
Right now, data brokers are exempt from the law.
CFPB wants the loophole theyve wiggled through shut down.
CFPB announced this request on December 3.
How much purchase will a consumer-focused regulatory agency founded in 2011 have in the incoming Trump administration?
Its impossible to know, but the signs arent good.
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are teasing the elimination of sacred cows like veterans benefits.
Its hard to imagine a future where a smaller, less-known agency isnt targeted in the new regime.
No one is coming to save you from your air fryer, Im saying.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
