Warning: *Privacy Not Included with this product
KidKraft Amazon Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen & Market
Looking to teach your five year old about shopping and cooking at a very young age? Who better to trust than Amazon's Alexa? (We can actually think of a whole bunch of better options to teach young kids about shopping than Amazon's Alexa, but roll with us here.) KidKraft has paired up with Amazon's Alexa for this wooden kitchen and market set complete with self-checkout, working smart scanner, fridge, freezer, and even a smart faucet. Plop an Alexa smart speaker (sold separately) in the middle of the kitchen and that, along with a bunch of RFID sensors, will play with your kids. We'll give them this, potentially training kids at an early age to buy stuff while hanging out with Alexa sure feels like a solid business model. We're pretty worried about the privacy implications of this though.
What could happen if something goes wrong?
The biggest privacy flag for us with this toy targeted at kids ages 3 - 10 is that it is hard to get any information about the KidKraft Alexa Skill because the Amazon Skill store does not require links to a privacy policy. So we are unable to tell what data this might collect or how the voice interactions might be used. Amazon does say that child-directed Alexa Skills cannot sell physical products or services; sell digital products or services without using Amazon In-Skill Purchasing; or collect any personal information from children. Which feels like everything could be ok. We just aren't able to confirm that. Couple that with the fact that we were unable to tell if this product meets our Minimum Security Standards and we have to warn, this Alexa-driven toy could come with *privacy not included.
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: No
App: No
Microphone
Device: No
App: Yes
Tracks location
Device: No
App: No
What can be used to sign up?
N/A
Phone
N/A
Third-party account
N/A
What data does the company collect?
Personal
KidKraft promises that any Personal Information they may receive from users they have actual knowledge to be under the age of 16 will be purged from their database. With no Alexa Skill related policy we are unable to confirm what data this might collect or how the voice interactions might be used.
Body related
Social
How does the company use this data?
How can you control your data?
What is the company’s known track record of protecting users’ data?
No known incidents in the last 3 years.
Can this product be used offline?
User-friendly privacy information?
No Alexa Skill related policy. No mention of children data in the European version of the policy.
Links to privacy information
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Strong password
Security updates
Manages vulnerabilities
Privacy policy
No product- and Alexa Skill-related policy.
Does the product use AI?
The product uses Alexa Skill to connect to Alexa. No privacy policy for this skill can be found.
Is this AI untrustworthy?
What kind of decisions does the AI make about you or for you?
Is the company transparent about how the AI works?
Does the user have control over the AI features?
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Comments
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