Privacy Guides @lemmy.one unfazedbeaver @lemmy.one 12mo ago

Privacy respecting cleaning robots?

Are there any robot vacuums/mops that respect privacy; that don't map your house and phone home with the information?

23 comments

If you are not new to selfhosting and buy one of the supported (and actually good) vacuums then this replaces the cloud: Valetudo
- Valetudo is fantastic. Unfortunately the rooting process for some robots is a decent amount of work, but once it’s up and run going it’s very solid.
  
  I’ve been running two robots for two years now with no problems and no internet connections. Full mapping with zones.
  
  My robot is running on Valetudo as well, rooting was quite simple using an UART adapter, best check https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html before buying one
  
  They recently announced that they will publish new exploits at DEF CON next week and recommend owners to not update their firmware if they want to take advantage of that.
  
  So depending on how the exploit works installing Valerie might get a lot simpler. It usually takes quite some time until such exploits are not only fixed, but then also for devices with fixed firmware to hit the shelves.
- This looks fantastic. Thanks for the link!
Bruh, just don't give it your WiFi password.

They don't have their own cell phone plans or satellite uplinks.
- Many of them can only be controlled from a smartphone app that requires both the phone and the robot to access the cloud. ☹️
  
  Yikes. I hadn't realized. I had a great neato robot that was totally offline. The new version wants to be controlled through your phone. F that.
I don't know how you feel about second hand robots, but they are dumb enough to respect your privacy. The old Irobot roombas, They just run off of a internal clock, no connection to the internet, they bump around a bit, then dock themselves when the battery starts to get low. I pick them up at flea markets for 20 bucks, usually need to replace the battery, brushes, but they sell all that. Be weary if they smell like poop.
- I feel that the "dumb" robots are much worse than the lidar robots. Mine cleans very efficiently and also navigates when things move (like chairs). A buddy of mine has a "dumb" robot and has since stopped using it because he has had to rescue it often
  
  Oh, don't I know it. I always find "Mildred" stuck on this stupid mini step the previous owner made, or stuck under the side table. That being said, this place would get nasty if she wasn't running 3 times a week. But those little robots have limitations.
@unfazedbeaver

Just use a block list, some of your data is still in the cloud but you filter most of it
Is there a robot vacuum that does not have bluetooth, wifi or any other wireless signals, even if it does map your home?

23 comments