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sudifirjfhfjvicodke t1_j8sa74f wrote

Reply to comment by GENOCIDUS_REX in Anker recalls 535 Power Bank over fire safety concerns by GeT_Tilted

I get the Eufy camera concerns, but practically every major electronics retailer has had a recall over battery issues at one point or another. As long as there isn't evidence that Anker is systematically ignoring battery concerns or there are widespread defects across multiple models, I don't see a reason not to trust their batteries even after this.

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GENOCIDUS_REX t1_j8sarlj wrote

After the Eufy thing I’m not sure I trust them enough to plug a USB device of theirs into anything of mine.

I’m not as worried about fires.

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sudifirjfhfjvicodke t1_j8sbfuk wrote

Understandable. I'm personally not freaking out about it but I get why some would.

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YoungsterJoey017 t1_j8seth3 wrote

I don’t. it was an honest mistake in their software that has nothing to do with simple battery packs

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GENOCIDUS_REX t1_j8shfo0 wrote

Honest mistakes are minor. This was not honest, or a mistake.

They marketed these devices as specifically “no cloud” security, because of the concerns over Ring and other devices like that.

Then it turns out that it was all made up.

Their devices sent images to the cloud. Unencrypted. AND SAVED IT THERE

Their devices sent video to the cloud. Unencrypted. For anyone with the right url to view.

There were numerous, numerous failings in the security model of this supposedly secure device. They knowingly went to market with it. They avoided owning up to it for 3 months. They continued to sell the defective product during that time frame.

This was not an honest mistake.

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Boxed_pi t1_j8sjorz wrote

I got rid of mine immediately, with the exception of two that point towards the street.

I originally had ring until they got bought out by Amazon.

now I’m at the point where i can’t trust any company with my privacy so I’m in the process of building my own security camera network from the ground up. Having some problems with chip shortages but it’s going well.

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[deleted] t1_j8u1yjx wrote

[deleted]

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Boxed_pi t1_j8u3i93 wrote

Yeah. Waiting for some zeros to come in then l I’ll be able to finish. I refuse to pay a 400% markup.

In the meantime, I’m working on my homelab.

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fuzzywinkerbean t1_j8suho6 wrote

Part of me wonders if it was a disconnect between development and product marketing honestly. Dev had one direction from management and then marketing had to find an angle to push and someone heard they were local only, wires got crossed and here we are.

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GENOCIDUS_REX t1_j8syw61 wrote

And no executives knew anything about the mixup. No one approved this, it just happened.

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fuzzywinkerbean t1_j8tgxxf wrote

You'd be surprised how little executives know about the business going on below them, they just like seeing profits. I honestly don't think this was malice or Anker/eufy thinking they could hide it from people forever, it was an oversight. Oversight doesn't mean it is ok though at all! These sorts of things should be avoided and corrected when pointed out for sure. I just don't really see the benefit they would gain from knowingly lying about it.

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GENOCIDUS_REX t1_j8tmzsi wrote

Someone fucked up in an egregious way. While shit rolls downhill, I believe the ultimate accountability lies with the executive product owners who allowed this defective product to be marketed this way.

Whether or not they knew is immaterial, they should have known.

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fuzzywinkerbean t1_j8tx5xs wrote

Oh we are completely in agreement trust me. They definitely fucked up. Fucking up with people's data is massive, let alone personal CCTV footage.

I was just saying I don't think the management at Anker decreed "we must store this data secretly for our own purposes and never tell anyone! Muahahaah" like some people seem to think about this news.

Management are ultimately responsible for this oversight and someone below didn't do things right for sure. It is just Hanlon's razor laid out by a large corporate.

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detectiveDollar t1_j8xbool wrote

I agree with that, I think the other commenter meant that this isn't some NSA-style deliberate spying on the part of Anker/Eufy. Some have framed it that way, as if Anker/Eufy is going to put a secret camera and wifi transmitter into a power bank.

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YoungsterJoey017 t1_j8sv27l wrote

it’s a big company. this is the most likely case, but people are quick to assume malicious intent.

regardless, i’m not gonna be scared to buy a battery pack because I’m scared they’ll intentionally put spying hardware inside.

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