Warning: *privacy not included with this product
Ubtech Jimu Robot Kits
Coding robots for kids are cool. These coding kits from Ubtech come in all shapes and sizes--from a dragon-shaped Firebot to a truck-shaped Overdrive bot, to our favorite, the Unicornbot complete with light-up horn. Whichever bot you choose, code it up to detect distance with sonar, navigate obstacles with IR sensors, program the lights to flash and the motor to rev up. These bots sounds like fun and learning for all ages.
What could happen if something goes wrong?
As cool as these robot kits look, we have a bone to pick with Ubtech, the maker of these robots. The only privacy policy we could initially find for these toys was the one for the website linked on both the website and on the app page in the Google store. We spent hours looking for a privacy policy that covered their app — an app that accesses the camera, microphone, and location tracking on your phone — and couldn’t find one. Eventually we stumbled across a link at the very bottom of a JIMU Support & FAQ page that provided a link to their app privacy policy. Why oh why, Ubtech, do you hide your app privacy policy in a place nearly impossible to find? Not cool and it doesn’t inspire confidence that you care about privacy.
Once we were finally able to track down their app privacy policy, we were still left with some concerns about these robot coding kids. Ubtech says they don’t sell personal information, which is great. They also say they may disclose your personal information to third-parties only with your consent. Also great. So far so good.
Then Ubtech goes on to add this vague statement to their privacy policy and we don’t find it so great. They say, "Generally, we will only use your personal information we collect for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice, or for the purposes we explain to you when collecting your personal information. However, if permitted by applicable local data protection laws, we may also use your personal information for purposes other than those we have explained to you (such as for public benefit, for scientific or historical research, or statistics purposes)." Yeah, that feels a bit overbroad and scary.
Couple that with the fact we couldn't confirm these coding robots meet our Minimum Security Standards and all this raises enough concern for us that we are wary this product might come with *privacy not included.
Tips to protect yourself
- Check Ubtech FAQ for safety usage instructions
Security
A.I.
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: No
App: Yes
Microphone
Device: No
App: Yes
Tracks location
Device: Can’t Determine
App: Yes
What can be used to sign up?
Yes
Phone
Yes
Third-party account
Yes
What data does the company collect?
Personal
Nickname, phone number, and email address
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 privacy policy found for the device or app.
Links to privacy information
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Ubtech take measures such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption
Comments
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