Air fryers could be spying on you

Researchers have found that Chinese-made kitchen appliances could be sending sensitive personal information back to Beijing and that smartphone apps linked to the gadgets sought permission to record audio for no apparent reason.

The team at consumer advocate group Which? revealed that data collection on air fryers built by the companies Xiaomi, Aigostar and Cosori "often went well beyond what was necessary for the functionality of the product".

Harry Rose, editor of Which? magazine, said: "Our research shows how smart tech manufacturers and the firms they work with are currently able to collect data from consumers, seemingly with reckless abandon, and this is often done with little or no transparency."

A Xiaomi spokesperson said in response: "The permission to record audio on Xiaomi Home app is not applicable to Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer which does not operate directly through voice commands and video chat."

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