The ‘creepy’ gadgets spying on your children: From a smartwatch that tracks users’ locations to an AI chatbot which collects audio and video on anyone ‘within earshot’

A popular children’s smartwatch, which tracks users’ locations and secretly listens to their conversations, has been named one of the ‘scariest’ tech gadgets ever.

The £170 Angel Watch was launched in the UK late last year as a “child-safe wearable mobile phone” that allows parents to “find and track their little ones”.

But the Mozilla Foundation warned against buying the device “at any cost”, because despite collecting huge amounts of sensitive data, it does not even have a privacy policy.

The privacy campaigners’ annual report found that smart games and apps for children were “worst in class” when it comes to collecting user data.

Another product highlighted is an AI robot called Moxie, which is designed to talk to children using built-in chat software to help them learn social skills.

The researchers found that the £1,200 bot collected massive amounts of audio and video on anyone “within earshot” and shared these “conversations” with Google and ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

They also revealed that the game only worked when data collection was enabled, and that third-party companies could use this data to train other AI models.

Mozilla’s annual “Privacy Not Included” report said the growing use of artificial intelligence in smart games and apps for kids “sounds multiple alarm bells for privacy.”

The evidence highlighted how Microsoft and Amazon were fined tens of millions of pounds in the United States this year for allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Act.

The report, which looked at 150 of the latest tech gadgets on the market, found that many were “worse on privacy than ever before” – with children’s gadgets among the “worst offenders”.

Described as “one of the best smartwatches for kids you can buy,” the Angel Watch was launched in 2019 by Swiss entrepreneur Alexandre Clavel.

The device has functions similar to adult smartwatches, such as video calls and health monitoring, but does not allow them to access social media or browse the Internet.

It also allows parents to monitor their children, allowing them to “discreetly” listen to what they are doing and track their location, including setting up alerts if they stray more than allowed.

Mozilla said it was “deeply concerned” that although the product’s website admitted it had collected a huge amount of highly personal information, there was no privacy policy.

This made it impossible to determine exactly what the company does with all this data, who it is shared with, how it is protected, and how it is deleted because there is no privacy policy, the researchers said.

Mozilla said it attempted to contact the company via email “several times” to inquire about the privacy policy but did not receive any response.

“Given all this, we have to seriously warn people to avoid buying this smartwatch for children and vulnerable people at all costs because we cannot tell you anything about their privacy and security practices,” she said.

“We are very concerned that the device, which has GPS tracking, says it can be used for ‘discreet audio and video monitoring’ through a camera and microphone, provides cellular and video calls, and monitors body-related information such as heart rate and body temperature.” Heat. Provide any privacy policy at all to explain how we protect, secure, use and handle all sensitive personal information.

“The privacy and security of our favorite apps and tools have gotten worse across the board, but especially among children’s products,” said lead researcher Gene Kaltrader.

“Companies that are good at privacy do so by not collecting any data in the first place. Alexa, have you realized that?”

Representatives for Angel Watch and Moxie did not respond to requests for comment.