It's common knowledge by now that if you own a device – be it a refrigerator or a smart TV – it collects information about you and sends it to your home. This is no longer controversial.
In most cases, you can choose not to, but how do you know if your device has truly stopped tracking your activities? How can you tell if a device that is not officially designed to collect and share data is still doing so? It's not always easy or 100% reliable, but there are signs to look out for.
Your technology is being observed more than you think
The companies that make our smart gadgets use all sorts of euphemisms for digital surveillance to make it more likely that you'll click “I agree” when reading a privacy agreement. That is if you even bother to read it. This is why it became possible TV manufacturers will use technologies such as ACR or Automatic content recognition blatantly follow all your television activities without people realizing that they have actually agreed. Worse, it's a system of refusal, which means that if you don't say no, the answer will be perceived as yes.
Telemetry and analytics may include app usage, browsing habits, voice snippets, location, and detailed metadata about other users. devices on your network. signs that a device can do this are usually invisiblebut this is not the same as being invisible.
Subtle Signs of Silent Observation
Often, detecting spying is about discovering a strange pattern over the course of days, weeks, or months, rather than one dramatic smoking gun. Some general things to look out for include:
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A battery-powered device suddenly drains the battery quickly and becomes unusually warm even when you haven't done anything with it.
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Network activity skyrockets, leaving your home network from devices that don't need to communicate outside of your local network.
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Ads that appear to specifically target your interaction with a device for which you have not consented to data transfer.
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Permissions change after an update or after a certain period of time. Some vendors are sneaky and use updates or policy updates to reset your privacy settings, or quietly trick you into agreeing to reset them without even knowing you're doing it.
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Your router or ONT's outbound traffic lights are blinking when you don't expect them to, and you have no explanation for it.
None of these are cut-and-dried, but they may be a clue that you should take a closer look at what data is leaving your home network.
The Usual Suspects: Gadgets That Love to Listen to
While any internet-connected device is a potential snitch, some are likely culprits depending on how they operate, what permissions they ask for, or simply the reputation of lesser-known brands for questionable privacy practices.
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Smart speakers and other devices with voice assistants that are activated by the wake word are always listening and recording. This means they have the potential to “accidentally” send recorded voice data to a server somewhere.
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Smart TVs, which as I mentioned, usually have technologies like ACR enabled by default these days.
- Smart cameras and doorbells are famous for this. Especially if it is a cheap model of an unknown brand or even a counterfeit device.
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Mobile or Smart TV apps that ask for too broad permissions that have nothing to do with their core functionality.
In my opinion, these are the most likely options, but any network device should be treated as a potential threat.
How to catch your devices red-handed
You don't have to be a network security expert to know that a device is doing something suspicious—I certainly am not.
These days you can use a tool like Wireshark To perform a complex analysis of your local network traffic, but the truth is that many modern routers have applications or interfaces that provide you with all the basic tools you need.
For example, my TP-Link Deco mesh router system shows my information about individual devices and even allows me to change their individual network permissions to ensure they can't send data where I don't like.
If you have a modern router system like this, you can look for suspicious devices in its client list and then view its traffic data. Does it send large amounts of data at frequent intervals? Is this expected behavior? Watch for frequent outgoing connections, large downloads, or connections to unfamiliar domains.
You can usually block all outgoing traffic for a specific device in your router's control panel. Devices like smart TVs will obviously stop working if you do this, but a local IP camera that you only control from your local network or a smart light bulb has no reason to communicate with the outside world.
You should review all your app permissions and remove permissions from apps that don't need them. Remove any apps you no longer use. You may have to do this again after a major OS update.
Check your smart device menus for labels such as “diagnostics,” “telemetry,” “product enhancement,” and the like. Turn it all off.
Locking down your digital life
If you think your device may be sending data you don't want, you have a few options. For example, you can place your IoT devices on a separate, isolated network. There are different ways to do this, but many modern routers allow create a virtual network for a subset of devices. To be on the safe side, change the default username and password on devices that can be logged in remotely.
If the device you're concerned about is from a well-known brand, you might want to find out what specific privacy measures people have taken, or if there is any evidence of real privacy issues with that device. If you have devices of unknown origin, it's honestly best to just unplug them and replace them with something we know.
