Sphero Mini & Bolt

Bluetooth

Review date: Nov. 2, 2020

Mozilla says

People voted: A little creepy

Meet the disco balls of programmable learning robot toys for kids. These little bots—ranging in size from a golf ball with the Mini to a baseball with the Bolt—come with lots and lots of lights and sensors kids can program though an app on their phone, tablet, or computer. The Mini comes with motor encoders, gyroscope, and accelerometer. Bolt has all that and an 8x8 light matrix, light sensors, infrared sensors, a magnetic compass, and even it's own protractor! It's enough to made the nerd in all of us happy.

What could happen if something goes wrong?

You should feel pretty safe playing with the Bolt at home. It meets our Minimum Security Standards and doesn't share your data. However, if your youngster uses Sphero Edu in school, your child's data is shared with teachers and with parents. That's likely not that big of a deal. However, it is something to consider, as we're seeing school and educational setting become an area of growing concern for how they protect—or don't—children's data.

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?

Sphero does not share your personal data with third parties for commercial or marketing purposes. If you use Sphero Edu in school, the child's data is shared with teachers and parents.

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?

Average

No known incidents in the last 2 years.

Can this product be used offline?

Yes

User-friendly privacy information?

Yes

Links to privacy information

Sphero Privacy Policy

Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?

Yes

Encryption

Yes

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest where possible to ensure its safety.

Strong password

N/A

The device pairs securely via Bluetooth, which does not require a password. Sphero Mini can be used with both Sphero Play (which has no user accounts and therefore no passwords) and Sphero Edu (which supports a variety of usage options ranging from no login up to integration with third party authentication services with their own password policies)

Security updates

Yes

Sphero pushes automatic updates to its devices and verifies the code to ensure it's authentic.

Manages vulnerabilities

Yes

Sphero has a bug bounty program, which means that anyone who finds a security issue and discloses it responsibly may get paid. The company also performs regular security audits.