Santa's Seven Favorite Surveillance Toys of 2022

If you’re anything like this writer, YouTube bombards you with countless pop-ups and interruptions encouraging you to upgrade to their paid subscription tier. That constant prodding is annoying enough on its own, but ParentsTogether says the subscription may move beyond annoying and actually present real danger when served up to young users.

The $11.99 paid tier removes YouTube’s incessant ads from videos and grants full access to YouTube music and a selection of original content. It also, according to ParentsTogether, comes with a risk of addiction and creepy adult interactions. While YouTube age restricts adult content, young users can easily work around those guardrails and even stumble upon violent or sexual content. And while experts disagree on the science behind just how harmful social media can be on a psychological level, ParentsTogether boldly proclaims YouTube is, “designed to be addictive.”

The reality is, like most social media, teens and kids are going to make their way online one way or another. Still, it’s best not to make it easier than necessary.

Okay, this is an obvious but incredibly difficult entry. Mobile internet-connected devices are a flashing target for advertisers, online creeps, hackers, and even foreign state governments all eager to siphon up users’ data. The intimacy and immediacy of access granted by mobile devices potentially makes the harms associated with other tech products, like social media and games, all the more pervasive. At the same time though, restricting people from using mobile devices in 2023 is increasingly akin to preventing people from walking outside. Even if you did want to keep phones out of kids’ hands, the battle’s lost for most teens. As of 2019, Pew Research estimated nearly all (95%) of U.S. teens had access to smartphones.

Still, ParentTogether recommends taking steps to limit children’s use of social media, particularly those who are under the age of 13. The less time they spend on their phones and on social media, the fewer data advertising firms can siphon up from them. ParentsTogether estimates online advertising firms already have 72 million data points on an average kid by the time they reach the age of 13.

With Meta’s long-term ambition for the metaverse still many years and many billions of dollars away, virtual reality games tailored toward young audiences remain one of the most reliable use cases for the new technology. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily great for kids.

Kids who game in virtual reality, ParentsTogether warns, frequently report accounts of either stalking, bullying, or even sexual harassment directed towards their avatars. In some cases, child accounts were able to skirt past restrictions and access virtual strip clubs. On the hardware side, Meta’s headset is equipped with a camera and a microphone which the group alleges could collect data about a child’s conversation.

It’s a sign of the times when even a water bottle can potentially be used as a surveillance device. That, according to the report, is exactly the case with HidrateSpark’s smart water bottle which tracks a user’s water consumption and sends that to an app over Bluetooth. An LED puck located at the bottom of the bottle glows a color to alert users when it’s time to take a sip. In theory, the water bottle is intended to act as a hydration aid to ensure the chronically fatigued and headache-prone remember to drink more. You could also drink when you’re thirsty, but then there are no flashing LED lights.

Though some bad actors probably could find some yet unknown way to weaponize water consumption data, the real risk with HydrateSpark’s water bottle comes from its rudimentary use of location tracking. The water bottle also collects basic biographical details of users, including their height, weight, age, and activity level, the report notes.

Middle school and high school can be rough to say the least, especially when it comes to physical appearance. That unfortunate reality makes tech solutions promising to enhance one’s appearance all the more threatening. That’s where the HiMirror smart face mirror comes in. The tablet-looking device comes equipped with a skin analyzer and ambient makeup lighting as well as the ability to use voice and video chat.

The risks presented by this smart mirror, according to ParentsTogether, are twofold. On one hand, the augmented reality features used on the device can potentially lead to similar body image and mental health issues linked with social media. Additionally, HiMirror requires users to upload an image of their face to “track the progress of their beauty goal.” Those images could then in theory be sold off or exposed in any potential data breach.

A device with the word “kid” in the name has to be foolproof, right? Well, not exactly. Amazon bills its kid-focused tablet as a comparatively restricted device that lets users read books, watch media, listen to music, and download apps. Though parents can opt to block access to certain material, set time limits, and restrict automatic purchases to prevent their kids from maxing out their credit cards, the device still falls prey to many of the same data-sharing issues inherent to other devices. The device collects large amounts of data, which Amazon can then use to sell more products in the future.

Additionally, ParentsTogether alleges that third parties can potentially collect, use, and sell a child’s data and voice interaction through the Amazon Skills feature enabled on the Fire HD Kids Pro

KidKraft’s smart connected toy lets kids simulate the experience of gouging to a market and picking out groceries then bringing them back to cook in a virtual kitchen. Among other things, kids using the device get to have “fun” learning how to work a self-checkout machine. On the other side of the device, kids peruse through 34 interactive food items and 24 recipe cards. The device works in part by having kids engage with a connected Amazon Echo device.

If parents really can’t stand to be seen with their child in a grocery store and do decide to buy the KidKraft, ParentsTogether recommends they regularly review and delete voice recordings as well as have an earnest conversation with the child about keeping certain information, like their birthday, name or location, private while playing.