August Smart Lock & Smart Lock Pro

Bluetooth

Review date: Nov. 2, 2020

Mozilla says

This smart lock from August uses a Bluetooth connection to unlock your door. That means you and your phone or Apple Watch have to be close by (about 30 feet or so) to unlock your door. These smart locks also have an auto-lock that let you set your door to automatically lock up to 30 minutes after you leave. Or auto-unlock when you get home so if you hands are full, no fumbling for your phone. Are Bluetooth smart locks safe? Many security experts recommend against them as Bluetooth technology has shown to have some well-known security vulnerabilities.

What could happen if something goes wrong?

Security researchers found a vulnerability in a version of August's smart locks that use the Connect add-on to connect to WiFi that could let hackers take over your home WiFi. This smart lock connects via Bluetooth with the Connect add-on and option to connect it to your WiFi. This is a good reminder that smart locks bring convenience and some added layer of security in that you can track who comes and goes to your home and give temporary access to people like your babysitter and then revoke that access after a set period of time. But smart locks also come with some additional security concerns. August doesn't sell user data, which is good. Still, it wouldn't be any fun to get locked out of your own home because of a security flaw in your smart lock.

mobile

Can it snoop on me?

Camera

Device: No

App: Yes

Microphone

Device: No

App: Yes

Tracks location

Device: No

App: Yes

What can be used to sign up?

What data does the company collect?

How does the company use this data?

If you enable the auto-unlock feature, location information will only be stored on your device. August does not sell your personal information.

How can you control your data?

You can request that data be deleted.

What is the company’s known track record of protecting users’ data?

Needs Improvement

Older versions of the August Smart Lock that pair with the August Connect may make your Wifi network vulerable to hackers. August was notified about the vulnerability in December 2019, but may not have fixed the problem. August implies that this problem is low risk.

Can this product be used offline?

User-friendly privacy information?

Links to privacy information

August Privacy Policy

Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?

Yes

Encryption

Yes

Data is encrypted in transit.

Strong password

Yes

Security updates

Yes

Manages vulnerabilities

Yes

August accepts reports of vulnerabilities through [email protected], and engages respectfully with researchers, remediates the associated vulnerabilities, and assists them in publishing their findings.