Which? warns smart home devices are demanding needless amounts of user data – even washing machines and TVs
Smart home devices, including appliances like washing machines, demand unnecessarily large amounts of user data that could end up in the hands of social media and marketing firms, a consumer group has warned.
Which? said many products’ apps request information during setup that should not be needed to run.
Among the offenders are Google thermostats that ask some users for their location and contacts, LG washing machines that need to know your date of birth, and Sony TVs that want to track your viewing habits.
In some cases, Which? said such data is shared with the likes of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta and TikTok.
UK data protection rules mean companies must be transparent about the data they collect and how it is processed.
But most customers are likely unaware of the extent to which it may be shared, as a third of people surveyed by Which? admitted they don’t read a device’s privacy policy and most only skim it.
In the case of a Google Nest device, the documentation is more than 20,000 words.
Rocio Concha, the consumer group’s director of policy and advocacy, said the Information Commissioner’s Office (Britain’s data watchdog) should consider updating its guidelines to better protect people.
“Firms should not collect more data than they need to provide the service that’s on offer,” she said.
“Particularly if they are going to bury this important information in lengthy terms and conditions.”
Google Nest encompasses doorbells, cameras, and thermostats
Who are the worst offenders?
The research looked at what information users needed to provide during setup, what data permissions a device’s relevant app requested, and what activity was subsequently tracked.
Smart cameras and doorbells from Ezviz, sold by many major UK retailers, were found to be particularly hungry and shared data with Google; Meta; Chinese phone maker Huawei; and TikTok’s own business marketing unit called Pangle.
Sky News has contacted Ezviz for comment.
Google Nest products varied depending on whether users managed them from an Android or Apple phone.
The former, which is Google’s mobile operating system, collects additional data like contacts and location.
In a statement, the search giant said it “fully complies with applicable privacy laws and provides transparency to our users regarding the data we collect and how we use it”.
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Unsurprisingly, fellow smart home brands Blink and Ring use tracking services from parent firm Amazon.
On Android, Ring even wants permission for people’s background location, which is not needed to alert them when their home security system is triggered and means they could be tracked when not using the app.
Consumers can opt out, but it’s turned on by default.
Amazon said its Blink, Ring, and Echo products were designed to “protect our customers’ privacy and security”.
“We never sell their personal data, and we never stop working to keep their information safe,” it said.
What could a washing machine need to know?
The hunger for data now extends to traditional home appliances like washing machines and TVs, which have been becoming increasingly internet-enabled.
With the latter, panels from LG, Samsung and Sony all flood their menus with ads and want access to user data to personalise which ones they see.
Tracking is optional, but Which? found all three firms bundled up the settings into a single “accept all” button rather than encouraging customers to better understand what was happening.
Samsung said security and privacy was “top-of-mind” and said its users can view, download, and delete any data stored across its products and apps.
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With smart washing machines, those from LG do not allow the use of their app without users giving their name, email, phone contacts, precise location, phone number, and date of birth.
LG told Sky News the app requested such details “to help tailor the experience, learn habits and anticipate needs, enabling customers to manage their smart appliance on the go”.
“All LG products can be used manually without the need to share personal details,” it said.
Miele’s app also track a user’s location by default, while Hoover’s Android demands access to contacts.
The company said data is collected “to optimise appliance usage and offer customers additional features”. It added it is “transparent with its customers”.
Ms Concha from 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.”
Adele, the Grammy award-winning artist, has joined the list of music superstars investing in Audoo, a music technology company which helps artists to receive fairer royalty payments.
Sky News has learnt that the British musician and Adam Clayton, the U2 bassist, have injected money into Audoo as part of a £7m funding round.
The pair join Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as shareholders in the company.
Changes to Audoo’s share register were filed at Companies House in recent days.
Audoo, which was established by former musician Ryan Edwards, is trying to address the perennial issue of public performance royalties, in order to ensure musicians are rewarded when their work is played in public venues.
Mr Edwards is reported to have been motivated to set up the company after hearing his own music played at football stadia and in bars, without any payment for it.
Estimates suggest that artists lose out on billions of dollars of unaccounted royalties each year.
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London-based Audoo uses a monitoring device – which it calls an Audio Meter – to recognise songs played in public venues, and which is said to have a 99% success rate.
It has struck what it describes as industry-first partnerships with organisations including the music licensing company PPL/PRS to track and report songs played in public performance locations such as cafes, hair salons, shops and gyms.
“At Audoo, we’re incredibly proud of the continued support we’re receiving as we work to make music royalties fairer and more transparent for artists and rights-holders around the world through our pioneering technology,” Mr Edwards told Sky News in a statement on Friday.
“We have successfully reached £7m in our latest funding round.
“This funding marks a pivotal moment for Audoo as we focus on our growth in North America and across Europe, bringing us closer to our mission of revolutionising the global royalty landscape.”
Sources said the new capital would be used partly to finance Audoo’s growth in the US.
The latest funding round takes the total amount of money raised by the company since its launch to more than $30m.
Mr Edwards has spoken of his desire to establish a major presence in Europe and the US because of their status as the world’s biggest recorded music markets.
Adele’s management company did not respond to an enquiry from Sky News.
The King’s personal fortune has shot up by £30m to put him on par with Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, while the overall number of billionaires in the UK has plummeted, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
The 2025 list, published on Friday, shows the King’s personal wealth grew from £610m to £640m, taking him up 20 places to 258 – level with former prime minister Mr Sunak and his wife.
The number of overall UK billionaires has fallen to 156 from 165 in 2024, marking the biggest drop since the rich list began 37 years ago.
Gopi Hinduja and his family, behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, topped the list for the fourth year running with £35.3bn.
Meanwhile, founder and chairman of global chemicals company Ineos Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who became part owner of Manchester United last year, dropped from fourth place to seventh after his reported wealth went from £23.5bn to £17.05bn.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Pic: PA.
Sir Jim’s £6.47bn losses marked the biggest on the list, while Russian-born brothers Igor and Dmitry Bukhman, who built a fortune on mobile games such as Gardenscapes and Fishdom, made the biggest gains with nearly £6.2bn.
New entries included makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury with £350m and Ellen DeGeneres, who left the US for the Cotswolds last year.
Ellen DeGeneres with wife Portia de Rossi at Wimbledon. Pic: Reuters
The Sunday Times said the list was one of its toughest to compile due to Donald Trump’s tariffs and the subsequent stock market turbulence, adding many from previous years had dropped off the list and others were no longer eligible having fled Britain after Labour’s non-dom crackdown.
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Overall, the combined wealth of those on the list stood at £772.8bn – down 3% from the last list.
Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast, Rich List compiler Rob Watts highlighted the story of Tom and Phil Beahon, who own sportswear clothing brand Castore which is now worth £1bn, as one of his favourites.
The brothers from Wirral have debuted at joint 345 on the list with an estimated wealth of £350m.
Calling their story “inspiring”, Mr Watts said: “They dreamed of being sportsmen as lads – one of them got onto the books of Tranmere Rovers and the other played cricket for Lancashire, but their sporting careers were over in their early 20s.
“And they say that failure was critical to driving them to create this £1bn sports kit business that you’ll now see being worn by the England cricket team and the England rugby team.”
England cricketer Olly Stone wearing a kit manufactured by Castore. Pic: PA
The top 20:
1. Gopi Hinduja and family – £35.3bn
2. David and Simon Reuben and family – £26.87bn
3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £25.73bn
4. Sir James Dyson and family – £20.8bn
5. Idan Ofer – £20.12bn
6. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family – £17.75bn
7. Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £17.05bn
8. Lakshmi Mittal and family – £15.44bn
9. John Fredriksen and family – £13.68bn
10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman – £12.54bn
11. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing – £12.51bn
12. Michael Platt – £12.5bn
13. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho – £10.09bn
14. Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family – £9.88bn
15. Lord Bamford and family – £9.45bn
16. Denise, John and Peter Coates – £9.44bn
17. Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family – £9.3bn
18. Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family – £9.25bn
19. Marit, Lisbet, Sigrid and Hans Rausing – £9.09bn
20. Alex Gerko – £8.75bn
One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges has suffered a cyber attack that could cost it $400m (£301m).
Hackers breached account data of a “small subset” of its customers and then tricked them into sending funds, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Coinbase received an email from an unknown threat actor on 11 May, claiming to have information about some customer accounts as well as internal documents.
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The hackers did not gain access to login credentials or passwords, but data including names, addresses and emails were stolen, Coinbase said.
The hackers had paid multiple employees and contractors working in support roles outside the US to collect the information. Everyone involved has been fired, it said.
Coinbase will reimburse all customers who were tricked into sending funds to the attackers – and estimates costs surrounding the hack will total between $180m (£135m) and $400m.
The exchange refused to pay a $20m (£15m) ransom to the hackers and is working with law enforcement agencies. It has also established a $20m reward for information on the attackers.
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Coinbase is also opening a new US support hub and taking other measures to prevent cyber attacks, it said.
This development comes just days before Coinbase is set to join the S&P 500 index – in what is expected to be a landmark moment for crypto.
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Security remains a challenge for the industry and in February, Dubai-based Bybit disclosed a hack which saw around $1.5bn (£1.19bn) of digital tokens stolen – widely dubbed the biggest crypto heist of all time.
“As our nascent industry grows rapidly, it draws the eye of bad actors, who are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the scope of their attacks,” said Nick Jones, founder of crypto firm Zumo.
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