It promises connected convenience. But the ecommerce giant doesn’t exactly have an inspiring record when it comes to privacy.

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.)

LastPass vs. 1Password: Two top password managers, compared

It wasn’t long ago that I raised an editorial toast to the reigning champion of password managers, LastPass, recommending it not only for its broad suite of premium features but — most crucially — for its refusal to let down its veteran fanbase of free users, even as it faced sweeping scrutiny over an ownership change. 

The move tragically undermines a key security principle that’s made LastPass’s free version so effective at core security — its seamless multiplatform integration. Using a password manager to boost security, perhaps more so than many other privacy products, pivots on a fulcrum of maximum user convenience. If not immediately and consistently visible during all browsing, a password manager can quickly be forgotten, and your ever-increasing number of passwords become more readily stored in a browser itself (a much less secure option). 

With more types of internet-connected devices in users’ hands — and with a digital divide contributing to a broader shift toward accessing the internet via phone — internet use is becoming more fluid. So a free password manager that can’t adroitly pivot between a user’s devices just isn’t going to cut it. 

Read the full article here