This came from my previous employer, so
I'm sure that it is legitimate. They sent me two links. The second one is
below. It explains why you should opt out.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/amazon-sidewalk-what-is-it-and-how-to-opt-out-if-you-want/ar-BB1bBcSo
Below are 2 sections copied from some of the first link:
AFTER MONTHS OF testing and delays, Amazon announced last Friday that it would
finally launch Amazon Sidewalk on June 8: The new service will keep your Echo,
Ring, and other Amazon devices connected to the internet, even if your internet
service provider goes out. And as usual, your devices will be automatically
enrolled in the program unless you opt out. Here are the potential benefits and
the potential privacy issues to consider.
Amazon bills Sidewalk as "a new way to stay connected." Simply put, it uses
Amazon smart-home gear to create a series of mini mesh networks, meaning your
devices can stay connected further away from your router, and even stay online
when your Wi-Fi goes down.
To do this, Amazon uses Bluetooth and unused slices of the wireless spectrum,
with Ring cameras and Echo speakers acting as the main bridges (actually called
Sidewalk Bridges) to keep everything connected. For something to work with the
network, it's
going to need to be compatible with the Sidewalk standard, so expect Amazon to
make and market devices that meet that standard soon (for example, Tile is
already on board. More on that in a moment.)
Even if your Ring camera is down at the end of the garden, out of reach of your
main router, Sidewalk might be able to reach it through a device
that's closer. The network can't carry much data at once, but these smart-home
gadgets
don't necessarily need much bandwidth to stay online.
The potential range of the network is decent—up to half a mile depending on the
setup—and Sidewalk is free for Amazon customers to use once they've
bought the hardware. As an added bonus,
it'll speed up the process of adding new Amazon devices to your smart home, as
your existing hardware will be able to lend a hand with Wi-Fi connections and
configuration.
So far so tempting, 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.
Tile trackers are also going to be Sidewalk-compatible starting June 14, which
means they can report their location when
they're in range of any of these bespoke networks, not just your
own—potentially very useful if your dog or your laptop goes missing outside of
your own Wi-Fi network, but has a Tile tracker attached and can be located by
one of the Sidewalk networks you're
connected to. A command like "Alexa, find my keys" will get the Tile tracker on
your keychain to start ringing, for example.
If that sounds familiar, it should.
Apple's AirTags, which launched at the end of April, do a similar thing.
AirTags use a combination of low-power Bluetooth and augmented reality to help
you find your devices (or anything else you've
attached an AirTag to, like your keys or your luggage,) and leverages
Apple's “Find My” network, which already helps people find lost phones and
laptops. AirTags and Tile trackers work in similar ways, but the addition of
augmented reality sets the AirTags apart, and getting on board with a network
like Amazon Sidewalk gives Tile an opportunity to move in the same direction
and stay competitive with Apple's
new offering.
But will all of these suddenly-online devices eat up ambient bandwidth? Amazon
says that bandwidth usage by each Sidewalk network is capped at 80 Kbps, or
around 1/40th of the bandwidth used to stream a high definition video—the
network won't take up any more of your internet connection than that. What's
more, Amazon promises never to use more than 500 MB of data in a month, which
is the same as streaming about 10 minutes of high definition data.
"Customer privacy and security is foundational to Amazon Sidewalk," writes
Amazon in a blog post about the service.
"The Sidewalk network uses three layers of encryption to keep data shared over
the network safe, and the same strong encryption standards are required for all
applications and devices that use the network."
This is from the second link:
Amazon Sidewalk is a feature built into Echo and Ring devices, turning them
into a wireless hub for other smart devices that anyone can make use of, piggy-
backing your internet connection… and in return, you can use it on other
people's devices, of course.
Sidewalk uses products such as the Echo (4th gen), Echo Dot (4th gen) as
bridges for devices such as Tile trackers and Ring car alarms to connect to.
Those devices might be yours, or they might be your neighbours’. The intention
is to create a wide-ranging network covering whole cities, that everyone’s
devices can access, provided of course they approved to work with Sidewalk.
This means that a Tile tracker in your wallet can tell you roughly where it is
even if you're
well out of range, or a smart sensor in your car can warn you of a break-in
even from across town.
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What does Amazon Sidewalk do?
Sidewalk uses 900MHz radio signals and Bluetooth to create a wireless network
that’s independent of your Wi-Fi. Those radio signals can reach as far as half
a mile in open ground.
Sidewalk Bridges, which are hub devices such as Echo smart speakers, act as
access points for Sidewalk-enabled devices such as smart sensors. The
interesting bit is that the Sidewalk network is for everybody, not just you. If
someone across town also has a Sidewalk hub, then your devices can connect to
their Sidewalk Bridge when your Bridge is out of range.
That means you could find your keys with a Tile tracker even when they’re too
far away for your device’s Bluetooth to find them, or get alerts from your
Sidewalk-enabled car alarm no matter where you park it.
The goal here is to have a wireless Sidewalk network that offers seamless
coverage across entire neighbourhoods.
How can I get Amazon Sidewalk?
Sidewalk will initially be a US-only service and should launch in December
2020. Initially at least, it’ll suffer from the “only fax machine in the world”
problem: Sidewalk needs lots of users to be worthwhile, but to begin with it’ll
be very patchy because few people will know about it. That’s presumably why
Amazon intends to switch it on by default on Echo devices that have the tech to
support it. More of that in a moment.
Will Amazon Sidewalk use up all my internet?
No. Sidewalk is a low-power, low-bandwidth network: it can transmit security
alerts from devices, but it doesn’t have the bandwidth to stream video from
something like a security camera. Its load on your internet connection should
be negligible: the maximum bandwidth for a Sidewalk Bridge is 80Kbps and it
won’t use more than 500MB a month per account.
What's in it for Amazon?
The more of your online life Amazon can be a part of, the more stuff it can
sell you – so if it can persuade everybody to embrace Sidewalk, it can sell
them lots and lots of Echos and devices that work with it.
Sidewalk itself isn’t there to mine data – and it has three levels of
encryption to protect user privacy against someone trying to snoop on the
Sidewalk network – but it encourages you to put Amazon devices in your home, in
your pocket, in your car…
What devices have Amazon Sidewalk?
At launch, the following devices can be Sidewalk Bridges:
• Echo Dot 2nd Gen and newer, including the model with the clock
• Echo 2nd Gen and newer
• All Echo Show devices
• All Echo Plus devices
• Echo Spot
• Echo Studio
• Ring Floodlight Cam (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Wired (2019), Ring Spotlight
Cam Mount (2019)
In addition, these devices have been confirmed to connect to Sidewalk:
• Ring Car Alarm
• Tile trackers
More third party support should be announced soon.
How do I turn Amazon Sidewalk on – and how do I turn Amazon Sidewalk off?
Sidewalk is an opt-out service, so as soon as it goes live – which should
happen this month – it’ll go live on your compatible devices. We understand the
thinking here, because Sidewalk needs lots of users to deliver on its promises.
But it’s a bad look from a privacy perspective.
If you want to turn Sidewalk off, you do it in the Alexa app. In the app, go to
More > Settings > Account Settings > Amazon Sidewalk. There’s a toggle there to
turn off Sidewalk across all your devices for that account, or you can just
disable the Community Finding feature. That’s the one that lets other people’s
devices locate missing keys or pets, but it also gives away the approximate
location of your Sidewalk Bridge.
----- Original Message -----
From: Sheila Gordon <sheilamg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: <covna@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <covna@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 6/6/2021 4:20:58 AM
Subject: [covna] Re: Fw: info on Amazon Sidewalk and privacy
Be wary... I wouldn’t tap on that link!
Thanks for making us aware, Tom.
Sheila
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 5, 2021, at 7:17 PM, Tom Bray <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This was forwarded to me. I presume that it applies to our neighborhood also
Tom
Amazon announced Friday that their 'Amazon
Sidewalk' feature will go live on June 8. You have to opt out if you do not
want to share access to part of your WIFI with other people's
Alexa and Ring devices within up to a half mile of your router. By default it
will be turned on. Here are 2 links that discuss how it works and how to turn
it off. We will definitely turn it off. https://www.wired.com/story/how-amazon-
sidewalk-works
Virus-free. www.avast.com
