Smart devices - what are the risks for consumers?

Summary

• Smart devices have become mainstream with 19.2 million devices bought in the UK in 2021 
• The benefits of these devices are obvious to consumers, but they are much less aware of the risks 
• Evidence shows that many consumers do not act in ways to protect themselves against the risks associated with smart devices

Smart device ownership is common

Sales of smart devices more than doubled in 2021 with 19.2 million devices bought by UK consumers – compared to 9.3 million in 2020 . According to Which? research smart TVs (owned by 61% of people), tablets (60%) and smart assistants (38%) are some of the most common.

The benefits are clear

Members of our Which? Consumer Insight Panel value the convenience and control smart devices offer, for example the ability to have all you need on one device.

"Pros are it’s so easy to use, it’s really user-friendly, you can get everything from Netflix to YouTube workouts on there and listen to music… It’s just so good having everything in one place"

"Yes, definitely convenience, it’s super-convenient… just having… access, being able to control, remotely, your devices"

Whilst consumers value the features offered within smart devices, many households within our panel use their devices in a relatively limited way. While most smart devices have complex functionality many panellists don’t take full advantage of these, for instance a few panellists who own a virtual assistant e.g. Alexa, use this primarily to ask questions or play music. 

"I mainly use them- Alexa for internet radio because I like my music and for alarms when I've got something in the oven"

Only a few panellists were more enthusiastic users of the full functionality of these products, for example creating a ‘smart home’ using a range of smart devices. 

"So basically if we were out, say we were going to visit my daughter, we could have the Hive [smart thermostat] on low, then I could switch it for the heating to come up for when we came in the house, and things like that. Also, we do have smart lightbulbs, that I can set, for security reasons. I can have a light come on, and things like that."

But most people are not aware of the risks

Within our Which? Panel smart device users tended to be more aware of the benefits of using the devices than of  the risks. There were a couple of exceptions to this, for instance a concern felt by a small number of the sample was the risk to children, in particular their safety on gaming devices. Additionally there were some concerns regarding home assistants, e.g. Alexa and Google Home, listening in to conversations. Whilst this is a concern for some, many downplay this worry accepting data needs to be collected in order to perform fundamental features of the device (i.e. improving shopping suggestions), with some suggesting it’s AI listening in not humans and therefore didn’t pose a true threat to their privacy.

"Yeah, they are listening all the time, but it's not like someone is sat there with a headset on listening" 

There were a couple of factors which appeared to play a role in this low level of perceived risk:

1. The product brand e.g. Amazon, Google and Apple; and
2. The type of device. 

Firstly,  brand trust plays a part for some. If the device is made by a trusted brand ) there is an assumption that the device must be secure.  

"I don’t think Amazon would sell it if it was insecure"

Other consumers focus more on the type of device rather than the brand. For this group, concern about the security of smart devices was lower than computers and phones as they felt that they shared less personal information with these devices. This could be a false sense of security if smart devices are a way of accessing home networks and other data.

"I don’t think of it [smart devices] in the same way, as secure or not secure, that I would do with a laptop. Even though it obviously functions in a really similar way, I guess, because it’s a TV, I wouldn’t think of it as secure or not. That’s actually never occurred to me." 

Consumer behaviours regarding smart devices are risky

With consumers generally unconcerned about the risks of smart devices, there is little evidence that consumers are protecting themselves from potential security issues, including keeping devices updated. Respondents gave little thought to updates for smart devices, and had low awareness of what updates do and when they happen. Understanding of the risks of not updating frequently was very limited.

"I have a feeling a lot of [smart devices] just do [updates] automatically without… You know, they just run it all the time when they need to." 

"Not that I’ve noticed, no. If it [smart device] does [update], it must do it automatically. I think there was a glitch… We couldn’t do something. It wouldn’t connect to the internet on Friday…. They’ve obviously fixed it."

Similarly, there are also questions around whether consumers are keeping devices which are potentially no longer receiving updates. There is a general expectation that smart devices should last at least as long as non-smart equivalents, with low levels of understanding of potential software obsolescence. Whilst for some households this may not become a risk if they replace their devices regularly, many do keep and use devices for longer than software support periods, potentially putting them at risk. 

"I don’t know how long it will last. It will probably last long, 10 years maybe… None of the smart devices have gone wrong.."