These spying Airfryers that send your information to China: should you be worried ?

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A British investigation has just revealed that several models of connected oil-free fryers discreetly transmit your personal data to China. In addition to being dangerous for your health, these devices could also be dangerous for your privacy? It's quite possible.

For those who don't know, these oil-free fryers (or Airfryers) use a powerful ventilation system that circulates hot air at very high speed around the food. More sophisticated connected models can be controlled remotely using a dedicated application or a voice assistant.

A data collection with an inordinate appetite

The British organization Which? (equivalent to UFC-Que Choisir, but with a broader approach) specializing in consumer protection, has just uncovered practices that are questionable to say the least. Its investigations reveal that certain fryers from the brands Cosori, Xiaomi and Aigostar surreptitiously collect sensitive information via their mobile applications, before transferring them to Chinese servers.

These applications associated with these cooking appliances are particularly voracious in personal information. Gender identity, smartphone geolocation, user address, etc. These fryers therefore vacuum up much more than just cooking recipes. While manufacturers do indeed mention these collections in their terms of use, the British association denounces their excessive nature and the opacity surrounding their subsequent exploitation.

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Precedents that fuel mistrust

This controversy is reminiscent of the affair of Lidl's Monsieur Cuisine Connect robot cooker. The device hid a microphone not mentioned in its documentation, theoretically inactive, but potentially exploitable by experienced users. Hackers could, in theory, have activated this microphone remotely, which would have given them the leisure to spy on conversations taking place in the kitchen. A discovery that forced the brand to justify the presence of this component by an aborted project to integrate the Alexa voice assistant.

Cybersecurity expert Malwarebytes questions the relevance of such data collection for simple cooking appliances. The organization nevertheless gave these few tips on its site: ” An easy solution ? Don't install the app and avoid giving manufacturers personal information they don't really need. For the warranty, they may need your name, but your gender, age and, in most cases, your address, are not essential “. Very wise recommendations, because behind these attractive devices could be hidden digital surveillance as discreet as it is unjustified.

• An investigation reveals that some connected air fryers transmit sensitive personal data to China.
• The Cosori, Xiaomi and Aigostar brands collect, via their applications, information such as location and gender identity.
• Malwarebytes has recommended not installing the application to limit this excessive data collection.

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