3 Toys NOT to Buy Your Kids This Holiday Season

3 Toys NOT to Buy Your Kids This Holiday Season

Connected toys may excite kids, but parents need to be wary.

As we approach Black Friday and the kick-off to the holiday gift-buying season writ large, kids are asking for the newest, coolest toys – most of which are now Wi-Fi enabled and/or partnered with an app. Connected toys may excite kids, but parents need to be wary. Toys with cameras or microphones can potentially be hacked, and any device or app that requires you to make an account also poses security risks. Mozilla this year put together a “Privacy Not Included” guide across a wide variety of gifts. Here are three of their top offenders based on security and privacy criteria and risks.

  • Hello Barbie: This Barbie, which can have a two-way conversation with children and has progressive learning features, made headlines two years ago for security issues. The toy listened to and recorded children, sent that collected data to live on the company’s server, the data was shared with third parties, and the Wi-Fi and app could easily be hacked, potentially letting strangers listen to your children. This year, Hello Barbie has received updates to privacy and data storage but still has a microphone and requires you to make an account. It could still potentially record and say weird things to children.
  • Toymail Talkie: Toymail Talkie is essentially a walkie-talkie disguised as a plush. It has a Wi-Fi enabled box that parents can set up to let their children talk to approved family and friends using the app. The toy includes both a camera and a microphone, and the app requires you to make an account. Potentially, hackers could talk to or leave messages for your children.
  • Adidas miCoach Smart Soccer Ball: This soccer ball connects to an app to give feedback on power, spin, strike and trajectory to help develop and improve skills. The ball has a camera and microphone and can track your location, while the app requires you to create an account but doesn’t have privacy controls. The toy does collect some data on you but you are able to contact the company to see what data it has collected and amend, block or delete information.

As technology evolves and toys get “smarter,” here are four ways to keep your children’s play safe:

  • Change default passwords on connected items right away, and give each toy a unique password.
  • Check for software updates as soon as you open a toy and stay current on updates.
  • Research security issues before you buy your toys, and read the privacy policies provided by manufacturers so you know exactly what data your toys are collecting from your children.
  • Make sure your home’s internet is secure.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

  • Cost: Reactive vs. Proactive Security

    Security breaches often happen despite the availability of tools to prevent them. To combat this problem, the industry is shifting from reactive correction to proactive protection. This article will examine why so many security leaders have realized they must “lead before the breach” – not after. Read Now

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

New Products

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.