Ecobee SmartCamera

Ecobee SmartCamera

ecobee
Wi-Fi Bluetooth

Review date: Nov. 1, 2023

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Mozilla says

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People voted: A little creepy

Ecobee -- best known for their line of smart thermostats -- has moved into the smart camera business now as well. Their Ecobee SmartCamera comes with Alexa built-in (reminder, Amazon's Alexa can be a bit snoopy on your privacy, so use Alexa to control your smart devices at your own risk). Ecobee says you can use your Ecobee SmartCamera to keep an eye on your home, chat with your pup when your away, and even get an alert when your smoke alarm goes off. How is Ecobee at privacy? Well, they aren't terrible (don't use Alexa though), and they do say they'll process your video on the device, which helps. Here's hoping Ecobee's new SmartCamera stays on the straight and narrow when it comes to protecting your privacy, unlike security cameras we've seen from Ring and Wyze. Fingers crossed!

What could happen if something goes wrong?

Can it be?? A smart home device maker who cares about environmental sustainability AND privacy? Ecobee (who hails from Canada), has been quietly working on making smart things smarter for a long time, and is doing their part to support the rumor that things are just a lil’ nicer in Canada -- that large landmass this privacy researcher just so happens to call home. The first point in Ecobee’s privacy policy is what we wish all companies would say and do: “Your personal information and data belongs to you.” Good work Ecobee! They also say, “If we collect it, we safeguard it.” Another good work Ecobee! The thing is, many companies crow about how much they care and protect their users’ privacy. Too many times this crowing is empty words written by PR departments. For Ecobee though, we really do think they are pretty good at protecting and respecting their users’ privacy (especially compared to many of the Big Tech companies out there). Plus, they're Canadian!

Ecobee does collect personal information on you. Things like name, address, email, telephone number, online identifiers such as IP addresses and device IDs, location information, as well as the SmartCameras’ recorded video and audio. Ecobee says that livestream video is encrypted and sent directly to your phone (without being recorded). They also say that any recordings or snapshots that you do save are visible in the mobile app and that when you delete them there, they are automatically deleted from the cloud too. Phew. Having that control over your data is a relief. Those long-distance chats with your dog are nobody’s business but yours. Ecobee even says that your videos will be deleted from their cloud server automatically when you uninstall the app. Now that’s something we would love to see as standard practice for smart home devices. They also say that they would require a court order to share them, which is again something we’d like to see more often.

Still, it’s important to know that Ecobee can potentially collect a lot of data about you. The good news is, Ecobee says they never sell your personal data. And they don’t seem to share your personal information with third parties for targeted, interest based advertising, which is also good....and rare!

The biggest privacy concern you’ll likely find with this smart camera is with the third party voice assistants you can use it with. Since Ecobee’s SmartCamera “works in harmony” with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit, if you choose to control your camera using those assistants then that will let Amazon or Apple know more about you. But hey, Amazon and Apple probably know way too much about you already.

Ecobee reportedly also stood up to Amazon when they demanded Ecobee share more user data with them. From The Verge, “...the online retail giant asked Ecobee to share data from its Alexa-enabled smart thermostats, even when the customer wasn’t actively using the voice assistant. Ecobee reportedly refused to have its devices constantly report back to Amazon about the state of the user’s home, including data on which doors were locked or unlocked and the set temperature. The reasoning being that enabling its devices to report this data to Amazon would be a violation of its customer’s trust.” Good Ecobee. Bad Amazon.

What’s the worst that could happen with your Ecobee SmartCamera. OK well, say your dog’s name sounds like “Alexa” or another one of the voice assistant’s “wake words” (Ziggy? Computer?). And say one day you are checking on your best furry friend when you say their name – you could accidentally initiate an audio recording that will get processed through Amazon. That would be a bummer if you are trying to limit the amount of information you share with that not-so-great-at-privacy company. Then again, in that case you probably wouldn’t have the Alexa app… Regardless! It’s your right to keep secrets between you and your BFF (Reflexa? Piggy?).

Tips to protect yourself

-Set up two-factor authentication
-If you connect to Alexa, delete your historical voice recordings from time to time, by saying “delete what I just said"
- Before connecting your device to third parties, be aware that the third-party privacy policy applies.
- When starting a sign-up, do not agree to tracking of your data.
- Do not sign up with third-party accounts. Better just log in with email and strong password.
- Chose a strong password! You may use a password control tool like 1Password, KeePass etc
- Use your device privacy controls to limit access to your personal information via app (do not give access to your camera, microphone, images, location unless neccessary)
- Keep your app regularly updated
- Limit ad tracking via your device (eg on iPhone go to Privacy -> Advertising -> Limit ad tracking) and biggest ad networks (for Google, go to Google account and turn off ad personalization)
- Request your data be deleted once you stop using the app. Simply deleting an app from your device usually does not erase your personal data.

  • mobile

Can it snoop on me? information

Camera

Device: Yes

App: Yes

Microphone

Device: Yes

App: Yes

Tracks location

Device: Yes

App: Yes

What can be used to sign up?

What data does the company collect?

How does the company use this data?

Privacy Policy

"We will not sell your personal information
...we will never sell, rent or otherwise share your personal information (including email address) or device data to a third party without your consent."

"ecobee will only disclose your Personal Information or any of its log file information when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such actions are necessary to: ...
With your explicit consent: We may share Personal Information such as e-mail addresses when authorized by you. This can include promotional offers by our partners. on your behalf and you can change your mind at any time.
With your explicit consent: We may share Personal Information as part of your registration and/or participation in eco+ or other Utility Program. ..."

"Your ecobee Device will collect environmental data such as temperature and humidity as well as operational data such as temperature set points from your HVAC equipment. Some Device models may include additional types of data such motion sensing (i.e., “occupancy sensing”). Depending on your Device model, your Device may also collect data from remote sensors in addition to the Device itself. Using machine learning with both on-device and remote processing, environmental, operational HVAC and occupancy sensing data and is used to optimize the heating and cooling algorithms on your Device to minimize energy usage when you are home or away. Collectively, this is known as Device Data. For ecobee Smart Security users, occupancy-sensing data can be used to arm or disarm your home monitoring solution."

"Video Services
ecobee SmartCameras can stream and store recorded audio and video in the cloud. No one can see your video without your permission or a court order. Video is processed directly on your SmartCamera and recordings and snapshots are stored securely on the cloud for 14 days. All recordings and snapshots that are saved to the cloud are visible in the ecobee mobile app, so you know exactly what clips have been sent and saved. When you delete a video from the ecobee app it will also erase that video from the cloud. For ecobee Smart Security customers, your SmartCamera can also be used to help determine occupancy and when to enable or disable your home monitoring system."

"Third Party Apps and Integration
ecobee Devices are capable of communicating and integrating with a growing number of third party devices, applications and services such as Apple HomeKit and IFTTT. If you enable integration with a third party service, you agree to share your ecobee Account Data and Device Data with that third party. Differing privacy policy terms may apply."

"We use both Device Data and ecobee Account Data to make more intelligent decisions about how to manage your heating and cooling, and to reduce your energy bills. We may also anonymously aggregate your Device Data with Device Data from other homes in order to create reports, benchmarks and allow you (and others) to compare energy usage, on an anonymous basis, with similar homes. ecobee may also send you information and reports regarding your Device’s operations, software updates, energy-savings opportunities or promotions directly onscreen in the web portal, or via email."

"If you agree to participate in ecobee’s Donate Your Data, you will be anonymously sharing your Device Data with ecobee’s research partners. Your Personal Information will not be shared. ecobee’s research partners will protect your data in accordance with this Privacy Agreement. For more information, see ecobee.com/donateyourdata."

"Voice Services
Certain ecobee Devices are Alexa Enabled Products, meaning they are capable of being voice-controlled using the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) provided by Amazon Digital Services LLC (“Amazon”). When AVS is enabled on your ecobee Device, your Device continuously listens for “wake words”. When the ecobee Device hears one of these wake words, it will initiate a brief audio recording and transmit that recorded message to Amazon for voice recognition processing. Use of AVS and third party services via AVS are governed by the Alexa Terms of Use (as provided on the Amazon.com website). Any information you provide to Amazon will be treated in accordance with the Amazon Privacy Notice (also available on the Amazon.com website), not the ecobee Privacy Policy. ecobee does not have direct access to, or retain any copies of, your recorded voice messages to AVS. When your Alexa-enabled ecobee Device is in Private mode, it is not listening for wake words, and no recorded messages are sent to Amazon."

"ecobee Devices are capable of communicating and integrating with a growing number of third party devices, applications and services such as Apple HomeKit and IFTTT. If you enable integration with a third party service, you agree to share your ecobee Account Data and Device Data with that third party. Differing privacy policy terms may apply."

"Your California privacy rights
You have the right to opt-out of the sale your Personal Information by ecobee. Since we do not sell your Personal Information, you are deemed to have opted out."

How can you control your data?

Ecobee Privacy Policy

"You have the right to have a copy of your Personal Information and Device Data at any time, and to be forgotten if you so choose. If you would like to get a copy of your ecobee data, please fill out our Data Request form. If you would like to delete your data, please visit Profile settings in your ecobee mobile app."

"You can delete your ecobee account and associated ecobee Account Data, as well as Device Data by deregistering your Device(s) using the web portal or directly on the Device."

"If we don’t have your data, we can’t lose it or mishandle it. That's why we will only collect what is needed to deliver our services. We have strict policies and technical measures to prevent unauthorized employee access to your data (including sound and video recordings). And when your data is no longer needed for a particular purpose, we will delete it."

"If you do not wish ecobee to have a copy of your Personal Information, you can request its removal by visiting Profile in your ecobee mobile app, where you can select “Delete my account”. If you would like to delete your data, please visit Profile settings in your ecobee mobile app. In order to protect your access to the ecobee Services and to guard against mischief or theft, ecobee may contact you to confirm your request and may request additional Personal Information solely for the purpose of authenticating the legitimacy of the request. Following such a request, ecobee will delete all Personal Information that it is not required to retain for the purposes of regulatory, tax, insurance, litigation or other legal requirements. ecobee may also retain such data for the purposes of safety, security, fraud prevention and detection."

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

Average

No known incidents in the last 3 years.

Child Privacy Information

No children-relevant policy found.

Can this product be used offline?

No

User-friendly privacy information?

No

ecobee's privacy policies are generally good, but they are set up in such a way that it makes them hard to search through for key words, which we like to see to help consumers review privacy policies for words like "sell" and "children".

Links to privacy information

Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards? information

Yes

Encryption

Yes

All network traffic is encrypted.

Strong password

Yes

A password is required for the web portal and mobile app.

Security updates

Yes

Manages vulnerabilities

Yes

Ecobee runs a bug bounty program, which means that anyone who finds a security issue and discloses it responsibly may get paid.

Privacy policy

Yes

Does the product use AI? information

Yes

Is this AI untrustworthy?

Can’t Determine

What kind of decisions does the AI make about you or for you?

Is the company transparent about how the AI works?

Yes

Does the user have control over the AI features?

Yes

Features such as eco+ are opt in.
*Privacy Not Included

Dive Deeper

  • Generac Announces the Closing of Its Acquisition of ecobee Inc.
    Ecobee Link opens in a new tab
  • Ecobee’s new thermostats are its best yet
    The Verge Link opens in a new tab
  • The Privacy Risks of Your Smart Thermostat
    VPN Overview Link opens in a new tab
  • ecobee vs Nest: Don’t Overlook These 9 Crucial Differences
    The Smart Cave Link opens in a new tab
  • Ecobee wants you to give away your data. Here's why (Q&A)
    CNet Link opens in a new tab

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