Netgear routers collect analytics data in defiance of user privacy

Recently, the Netgear R7000 router was updated and one of its newest features involves violating user privacy.

Collecting analytics data

This particular update allows Netgear to collect analytics data, tricking users into downloading through release notes found on Netgears’s website that recommends users update to its latest version.

On the Netgear support page, there is a short article giving users a brief idea of the type of information that might be collected from them:

Such data may include information regarding the router’s running status, number of devices connected to the router, types of connections, LAN/WAN status, WiFi bands and channels, IP address, MAC address, serial number, and similar technical data about the use and functioning of the router, as well as its WiFi network.

Users will also have the option to disable the telemetry

According to Netgear, the data collection is in effect to better isolate and debug technical problems and will not include personal data such as the websites that users visit. Nonetheless, this will cause a lot of concern and fuss among some users. We can also compare this with Microsoft’s Windows 10, the OS that managed to annoy users with its own settings regarding telemetry.

Many users would definitely consider the data collected by Netgear as personal information, but the company will not apologize for this new update under any circumstance.

While users will be able to disable the telemetry, we still have to see how many people tackle plainly not knowing, or how many users actually know that the new setting exists.

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