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Your washing machine could be sending 3.7 GB of data a day — LG washing machine owner disconnected his device from Wi-Fi after noticing excessive outgoing daily data traffic (www.tomshardware.com)

submitted 10 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 31 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

LG's app is an absolute privacy nightmare too. That app must be used if you want access to any smart appliance features and it requires precise location permissions 100% of the time. Even then, the app features are mediocre, it doesn't work very well and often doesn't notify of a finished wash load until long after it's completed.

Why anyone would want to allow their washing machine manufacturer to continuously track their exact location in exchange for some crappy, poorly implemented features is beyond me.

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

Thanks for pointing out the location service thing. I just killed that shit.

[–] Octopus1348@lemy.lol 8 points 10 months ago

The LG app also checks SafetyNet/Play Integrity so you can't use it with root. They probably fear that you can then unleash how much more of a privacy nightmare it is.

[–] Dicska@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

They probably want to see at which aisle your washing machine spends the most time on its grocery trip.

[–] MrMukagee@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 10 months ago

I just use a timer on my phone .... average wash cycle I use is about 30 minutes ... just set a timer on your phone ... KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid

[–] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Just looked at the app's permission settings on my phone... set to only allow location while being used.

Like you I don't see much use for the app, though the notifications can be handy if you want to know when a load us finished and you can't hear it's beeps. I work out of my basement with my washer upstairs so that can be the case with me. But still rare that I ever use it.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 months ago

I deleted the app and disconnected my LG appliances from wifi over a year ago. Maybe they fixed the issue.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Thinking back, I seem to remember that in order to receive notifications the app had to be running in the background while phone location was turned on, giving LG precise location tracking all the time. Is that no longer the case?

[–] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

I don't think so. I've had the notifications off though so I'm not 100%. I turned them back on so I'll know soon enough.