Amazon Sidewalk: Opt Out of Network Sharing?

[Stephen Tashi]

TL;DR Summary

Interesting article claiming Amazon electronic devices will a automatically enroll in network sharing - unless users know to opt out.

Interesting article claiming Amazon electronic devices will a automatically enroll in network sharing - unless users know to opt out: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...matically-share-your-internet-with-neighbors/

Is arstechnica trustworthy? I think Amazon is untrustworthy in the sense that they make sudden changes in policy (such as who may comment on reviews). So people who want the network sharing are advised not to become dependent on it.

 

[jedishrfu]

I've found Ars Technica to be a great source of tech information and if they say Amazon is doing this to improve the capabilities of their ubiquitous devices I would tend to believe it.

Years ago I heard of a plan to do the same for cell phones where they could work without a central tower by making a defacto network with other cell phones and evetually find a path to a cell tower. However, it was never really implemented as far as I know.

I do know the Tile/Airtag devices somehow can pass on info to nearby cell phones to provide location info back to one who lost a tagger article. Perhaps via bluetooth connections.

 

[anorlunda]

Amazon Sidewalk was announced in 2019. It has some similarities and some differences compared to Apple's new network using Apple Air Tags. The spooky thing about Amazon Sidewalk is the idea of sharing bandwidth over an entire neighborhood.

This Wired article has a bit more info.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-amazon-sidewalk-works/

From the article.

... but the more controversial part of Amazon Sidewalk is the way it shares some of your internet bandwidth with your neighbors (and gets some back in return), creating a much wider network of devices that can operate independently. If your internet goes down, your Ring camera can connect to the internet next door to keep sending you alerts, assuming both of you are set up with Sidewalk.

Likewise, if your neighbor's internet goes down, their smart devices can temporarily connect to your router and the Sidewalk network you've created. If Amazon has its way, entire blocks will become Sidewalk networks, improving reliability and stability for all the smart devices contained inside them, and meaning that you'll be able to unlock your smart door more easily from the other end of the street.

The article also says that using Amazon Sidewalk, you may be able to get you Ring doorbell camera to work up to 1/2 mile away from your house. That's very much further than the range of your WiFi.

So what are the pros and cons other than Amazon selling more devices? I don't think we know yet, it could be years before third party developers begin delivering innovations. With both Apple and Amazon offerings based on Internet connected mesh nets distributed both in space and in ownership. It may become universal by the year 2041, but between now and then keep your eye out for deveopments.

You can always opt-out of it now, and opt back in sometime in the future if it sounds attractive to you.

There are some creepy aspects of Apple's Air Tags also. One is that someone could slip a tag in your pocket or your purse, and track you no matter where you go. They could also track who you were near because the iPhone in the other person's pocket detected the proximity of the air tag. Think of the law enforcement possibilities, if the cops could say that you were within 2 meters of the victim at the time of the murder. Think of the nightmare in government and the military caused by such tracking. "Person X was in the Oval Office of the White house at hh:mm:ss yy/mm/dd." But on the other hand, I'm always looking for my car keys and the TV remote.

 

[vela]

Here's another take on Sidewalk.

https://slate.com/technology/2021/06/amazon-sidewalk-mesh-network-experiment-privacy.html

 

[Stephen Tashi]

From the FAQ of a local internet service provider:

Q. I use peer to peer programs such as bit torrent, edonkey, kazaa, morpheus, and winmx; are these against your terms of service?

A. Yes, all peer to peer programs are against our terms of service as they cause problems that are unique to the wireless infrastructure. We operate on the three strike policy - if it causes us a problem three times, we will terminate your service.

I think this particular provider is a small company.

 

[pbuk]

From the FAQ of a local internet service provider:

If I understand the technology properly I don't see that (PTP blocking) as relevant.

My understanding of the technology:

• My neighbour's Ring doorbell wants to connect to the Ring server.
• My neighbour's doorbell detects that it is out of range of their WiFi.
• My neighbour's doorbell sends a message to my Ring doorbell.
• My doorbell forwards the message to the Ring server via my WiFi.

As far as my ISP is concerned the traffic is indistinguishable from any other traffic sent by my doorbell.

 

[vela]

ISPs tend to dislike things like Bittorrent because (1) it can create a lot of traffic and (2) it can use up a lot of upload bandwidth. Their networks are designed under the assumption that most of the traffic will be going into a home, not the other way around. Amazon Sidewalk is a different type of peer-to-peer network, so it shouldn't be an issue.

It seems the main objection to Amazon Sidewalk stems from the fact it's from Amazon, which doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to safeguarding people's privacy. Apple, in contrast, has stated protecting its users' privacy is one of its main priorities, so its AirTags product didn't seem to raise as big of a stink even though it works in a similar way.