Ubiquiti adds phone-home to the access point firmware (community.ui.com)

Article summary

The article discusses Ubiquiti's addition of phone-home functionality to their access point firmware, which has sparked controversy among users. The company's changelog mentions crash and critical event reporting, but provides little detail. Users are concerned about the lack of transparency and opt-out options for this feature. The company claims that the data collected is anonymized and GDPR-compliant, but some users are skeptical.

Main themes

• Ubiquiti phone-home functionality
• Lack of transparency
• User concerns
• GDPR compliance
• Telemetry and data collection

What commenters say

• The addition of phone-home functionality without an opt-out option is a violation of user privacy and trust.
• The company's claims of anonymized and GDPR-compliant data collection are not convincing, and more transparency is needed.
• Blocking the phone-home functionality through DNS or other means is a necessary step to protect user privacy.
• The lack of transparency and opt-out options may lead to a loss of customer trust and loyalty.
• Some users believe that the company's telemetry collection is acceptable if it improves product quality, but others disagree.
• The company's response to user concerns has been inadequate, and more effort is needed to address user worries.
• Users who require high levels of privacy and security, such as those in HIPAA or PCI environments, may need to take extra steps to block the phone-home functionality.