The innovations of smart technology are making home workouts easier and more effective than ever before. For many, Apple Watches, Pelotons, and other exercise technology provide more efficient ways to stay active than joining a traditional gym. However, these devices are starting to raise concerns about the collection and sharing of personal data, including location, health analytics, and personal information.
While smart fitness technology can save you time and money, there are certain levels of security you have to be willing to give up in the process. Some devices only store your information for the device itself, but others have been known to share and even sell this data to other entities.
But much like other sectors of smart technology, there are numerous ways to prevent your fitness device from letting your information fall into the wrong hands. It is important to be fully aware of exactly what kinds of data this technology collects and the steps you can take to prevent any major privacy risks.
Here are some tips to protect your privacy:
Turn off any settings that explicitly give your device permission to collect personal data.
Enable your WiFi network’s encryption options.
Disable your device’s camera and microphone.
Check if your device defaults to a public profile, and if so, set it to private.
Don’t share any personal information or photos that are not required to register your device.
Manually check for software updates in case your device doesn’t do so automatically.
If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act entitles you to the following abilities when contacting your device’s support team:
Finding out what personal data your device is storing.
Requesting that your data be deleted (within legal regulations).
Asking for your information to not be sold.
If you are Interested in learning more about smart fitness equipment tracking, check out the below infographic from The Zebra:
Julian Carter is a writer and journalist specializing in a variety of areas, including health and tech. He enjoys writing about new and exciting revelations within different industries. You can find him on Twitter @JulianBCarter.