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Your dishwasher doesn't need a firmware update

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to wash your dishes. Your washing machine doesn't

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need the phone home to spin the drum. And your

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fridge absolutely 100 % does not need a full

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screen computer on the door especially if that

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screen can show you ads. Today let's talk about

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why Wi -Fi and appliances should be optional.

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why the privacy trade -offs are rarely worth

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it, and how smart quietly turns into monetized.

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Welcome back to the Tyler Woodward Project. I'm

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Tyler, a broadcast engineer by trade, a Linux

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nerd by choice, and I enjoy demystifying tech

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that's supposedly too complicated for people.

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Here's the thesis up front. Smart is not automatically

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bad connectivity can genuinely help remote diagnostics

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software improvements convenience features but

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it also creates data exhaust and data exhaust

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creates monetization pressure and well that pressure

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almost always ends up as tracking upsells lockouts

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or advertisements Maybe all four. So first, we'll

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define what you actually gain from Wi -Fi appliances.

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Then we'll talk about what you're really paying

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for. Money, reliability, privacy, and finally

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a practical checklist to buy and configure these

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things without getting hosed. Let's start by

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separating three very different ideas that marketing

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likes to mash into one word. Smart. First is

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optional convenience. That's stuff like tell

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me when the laundry is done or ping me if the

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fridge door is open. Second, maintenance. and

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support improvements like remote diagnostics

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that can reduce the number of service visits

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because the tech can show up with the right part

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the first time. Third, and this is the slippery

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one, features that should work locally but are

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put behind a connection or an account to push

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you into the cloud ecosystem. Consumer Reports

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documented examples where smart appliances are

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chatty, constantly sending encrypted data back

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to the manufacturer even under light use. In

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their test, appliances across major brands sent

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about 3 .4 megabytes to about 19 megabytes of

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data per week back to the manufacturer. and see

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our notes, that's with usage that may be less

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than a typical household. Now, if that data is

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strictly used for reliability and safety fixes,

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that can be a win. But the problem is, you, the

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owner, you don't get to observe that data directly.

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You don't get to have that clean off switch and

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you don't get to negotiate how it's used later

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when the business model shifts and the business

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model always shifts because the appliance sale

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well that's a one -time transaction but if they

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can get you hooked on services advertising and

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data profiling well that's a recurring revenue

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stream here's the part That I think most people

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miss companies aren't adding Wi -Fi Because it's

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a nice thing to have they add Wi -Fi because

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once the device is connected it can be turned

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into a platform and platforms have two magnets

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telemetry and monetization Let's connect this

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to real life with a couple of concrete examples

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You know how it actually goes wrong type stories

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One failure mode is feature gating where a device

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That feels like it should be local gets tied

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to connectivity for some reason or another back

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to consumer reports They covered a case where

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a thirty six hundred dollar Yeah $3 ,600 GE wall

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oven required Wi -Fi to unlock convection roast

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mode, even though convection cooking predates

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Wi -Fi by decades. GE's explanation? As reported

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by Consumer Reports, it included pushing, and

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I put this in air quotes, pushing a better with

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time mindset and enabling enhanced features via

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software. Another failure mode is ads showing

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up in places they don't belong. Samsung has published

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support instructions for turning off cover screen

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ads on its Family Hub smart fridges. which is

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Well a pretty solid indicator that ads can be

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part of the experience Even if there's a toggle

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today The deeper issue is that the product category

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now Has an ad surface at all Because that means

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incentives they're gonna change over time. Eventually

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you will not have that toggle button and the

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biggest sideways issue is privacy because connecting

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appliances create a timeline of your life. Consumer

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Reports describes how connected appliances can

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collect information ranging from usage patterns

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to personal information collected through companion

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apps and notes that some apps can include third

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party trackers. Consumer Reports specifically

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calls out that the LG ThinQ app contained 10

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third -party trackers and their analysis. And

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that 10 is on the high side among mobile apps

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and their testers' experience. And this is where

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The smart isn't bad nuance really matters Remote

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diagnostics can be helpful But it doesn't require

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collecting every little piece of data forever

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a Washer doesn't need your data birth to wash

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your hoodie and a fridge For sure as hell doesn't

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need your geo location to keep the milk cold

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So when the data collection exceeds What's needed

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for function and safety? That's a signal. The

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device is being optimized for the company. Not

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for you. So what should a power user actually

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do like this weekend? Well, here's my practical

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playbook. First, decide if you need network features

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at all. If the only benefit is cycle done notifications,

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that's usually not worth creating a new always

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on data source in your house. If the benefit

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is remote diagnostics during warranty, well,

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that could be helpful. Temporarily, connect it

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when needed, then disconnect it. Second, treat

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the phone app as part of the product that you're

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buying. If the app is loaded with trackers, you're

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not just buying an appliance, you're buying an

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ongoing relationship with an ad tech shaped ecosystem.

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Consumer Reports recommends reducing exposure

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by changing location permissions and disabling

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app tracking on your phone where possible. Third,

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isolate anything. you do connect to your wifi.

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Consumer reports also suggest putting smart devices

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on a guest network to keep them separated from

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your main network, which houses your laptops

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and your phones, reducing the blast radius if

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the device or account gets compromised. Fourth,

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don't pay extra for a screen you don't need.

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A fridge door screen is a computer. in a hot,

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high humidity, high touch environment. And if

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it becomes an ad surface, you just paid to install

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a billboard in your own kitchen. If a feature

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can be done with a phone you already own, paying

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a premium for a built -in screen usually fails

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the value per dollar test. Finally, a little

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shopping rule of thumb. Prefer appliances that

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work fully offline Wi -Fi should be an optional

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convenience not Required to access core cooking

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modes or basic functions if a store listing or

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demo model can't clearly explain or show you

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Like a demonstration of how it works without

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an account. That's a reason to keep on looking

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So no most people Don't need Wi -Fi in a dishwasher

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or a washing machine or a fridge and a screen

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on a fridge door is often a pricey shortcut to

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future annoyance Smart can be fine But once the

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device is connected it starts producing data

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exhaust and data exhaust attracts monetization

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pressure like crumbs attracts ants Visit TylerWoodward

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.me Follow at TylerWoodward .me on Instagram

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and threads. Subscribe and like the show on your

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favorite podcast platform. I'll catch you next

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week.