Petcube Play 2 & Bites 2
Review date: 11/02/2020
Mischievous pets everywhere, be warned! These wide-angle, HD-video cameras with two-way audio are watching you. They know whether you've been bad or good and are storing all that evidence in the cloud--encrypted, of course. Be good, and your owner might fling a treat at you or zoom a laser about. Be bad, and your owner might yell at you through the speaker. The built-in microphone picks up barking, meowing, your Amazon Alexa asks, and who knows what else. There's even what what Petcube calls "cutting edge AI technology" that can differentiate your pet from a human. Pets can phone their parents, send cute selfie videos, and make clips instantly shareable. Petcube claims on their website that "privacy is our top priority." We sure hope so!
What could happen if something goes wrong
Petcube claims privacy is a priority. And we think they do a pretty good job. They encrypt the data they store in the cloud, which is good. And they only share aggregated, de-identified data--this means that Petcube strips your data of personal information and then pools it with other user data. This doesn't worry us much at all. Even their privacy policy does a good job of explaining things simply. Good on Petcube for getting it right! After all, this product brings eyes and ears in your home and stores what it sees in the cloud. It's one thing to spy on your dog in order to give it a treat. It's another to worry you might be the one being spied on. With Petcube, we don't think you need to be all that worried.
Privacy
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: Yes
App: Yes
Microphone
Device: Yes
App: Yes
Tracks Location
Device: No
App: Yes
What is required to sign up?
Yes
Phone
No
Third party account
Yes
What data does it collect?
Personal
Email address, pet information
Biometric
Audio recordings (collected by Amazon if you use Alexa)
Social
How does it use this data?
How can you control your data?
What is the company’s known track record for protecting users’ data?
No known incidents in the last 2 years.
Can this product be used offline?
User friendly privacy information?
Links to privacy information
Security
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Uses encryption in transit and at rest.
Strong password
Security updates
Manages vulnerabilities
Reporting is encouraged. https://petcube.com/support/article/petcube-security/
Privacy policy
Artificial Intelligence
Does the product use AI?
Does the AI use your personal data to make decisions about you?
Does the company allow users to see how the AI works?
The AI-powered Pet recognition, pets can phone their parents, send cute selfie videos, and make clips instantly shareable. Through machine learning, Petcube devices will be able to differentiate between pets versus humans.
