Nowadays, I see almost everyone is wearing a smartwatch. Some wear them as a trend, some use them as part of a lifestyle, others as a fashion, while everyone else just because his or her colleague/friend/family member wears them (they want to be part of the bandwagon). Yes, I am well aware of the benefits that include, but are not limited to, health & fitness, entertainment and the sheer applications available to use with the smartwatches in question. Nevertheless, are you aware that a smartwatch may and can spy on you? Yes and my article today will shed some light for you.
The number of smartwatches that are being introduced and released in the market is staggering. Walk in the malls or any of the shopping centres here in Muscat to see this before your own eyes.
From the leading heavyweight tech solution companies to dedicated organisations, all are releasing different models, screen sizes, operating systems, etc, for the watches. Popular smartwatch operating systems are Apple (iOS), Google’s (Android Wear), Samsung’s Tizen, and Huawei’s Lite and Harmony OS. Companies that manufacture these smartwatches include Garmin, Honor, Fitbit, Motorola, Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Oppo, Imoo, etc. I use Huawei’s Galaxy Wear, my dad uses Samsung Galaxy Watch and my wife uses Apple Watch. Clearly an example of the plethora of smartwatches available in the market and the uses of the same, be it in corporate, families, or in our homes too. According to a report I read online a few weeks ago, there are approximately over 500 million wearables shipped in 2024 (smartwatches leading the shipment).
So what’s the problem? They have generated, stored and shared a lot of data.
They know a lot about you. Where you go (location), what you talk about (chats and conversations via inbuilt microphones), what you do (exercise via sensors), your heart rate (via all the sensors it comes embedded with), other gadgets/devices they integrate with and all the access we allow and give to these smartwatches to operate (appliances such as TV, AC, smart speakers, etc).
Furthermore, the first thing you do upon activating the smartwatch is feed it with a lot of data, ie, your age, height, gender, likes and dislikes.
Every upgrade these smartwatches get comes with refined ways for the manufacturer to know more and be able to get data about you. Yes, that’s scary and that is the unfortunate reality — smartwatches can monitor and track you, like how smartphones can and work today.
They both have operating systems and applications created by third parties and can connect to the information superhighway. You are aware that hackers can get into your phone; the same applies to any unsecured smart device (smartwatches included, of course). So what can you do? Precisely follow what you do with other smart connected devices. For example, ensure you update the operating system (software) of the smartwatches periodically as they are released. Once you get notification, ensure you apply it.
Secondly, avoid downloading apps from non-trusted sources (other than the Apple Store, Google Play Store, or Huawei’s Gallery) depending on the manufacturer of your smartwatch.
Ensure a PIN or biometric lock is configured on your smartwatch. Do not keep Bluetooth turned on if you do not use it and lastly check your privacy settings (on what you allow with the smartwatch).
In conclusion, I won’t deny that smartwatches are very useful and continue to be innovative.
Manufacturers continue to find ways to improve and release watches (due to opportunities available); consumers continue to wear them and some even go to the extent of upgrading their models every year (clearly there is a need in the market).
Nevertheless, one cannot underestimate the risk associated with these smart devices (smartwatches too and in particular for this article).
They know too much by the kind of things they store and they can unfortunately expose too much if we are not wary of the kind of things we engage them with. Until we catch up again next week, be vigilant and stay safe.
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