Please take note of some new functionality rolled out to users this week that you may wish to turn off if you have an Amazon Alexa and/or Ring device.
What Is The Issue?
Amazon has enabled a feature called "Sidewalk" on various Echo smart speakers and Ring cameras/devices that allows for the sharing of your Internet service to other devices not on your home network. As with anything new, there are some pros/cons to enabling/disabling this feature.
Pros/Cons:
Pros:
If your devices, especially cameras, are at the end of the range of your Wi-Fi network then using your neighbors Wi-Fi signal (from other Amazon devices they might have) can help you ensure that your camera/device remains online. This will enhance the connectivity and/or speed of your device.
Cons:
Your neighbor's devices may be able to do the same thing and use some of your network (up to 500mb each month) when they fall out of range of their home network.
There may be potential security or privacy risks here, but they are extremely minimal and highly nuanced to your specific house/environment.
What Can You Do About It?
Depending on the year, model, version of your Alexa device or Ring camera/device you may have the Sidewalk functionality and may want to turn it off. To check, following these instructions.
For the Echo family of speakers, open the Alexa mobile app and go to More >Settings >Account Settings >Amazon Sidewalk and choose Disable.
For Ring cameras, go to the Ring app, the Control Center >Amazon Sidewalk >Disable >Confirm.
Alexa Image Below
Ring Image Below
As always, if you have any questions, please let us know by emailing us at ask@BlackCloak.io. We are happy to help!
