2 days back i bought the Xiaomi mi Home Security camera 360. online reviews are great, mi.com lists specs which are impressive, sales staff give a demo – download the mi home app and connect the camera. so i buy it.
on using it for the first time, i realise that the Mi home app will not operate unless a Mi account is created. either email id, facebook id or phone number is required. and it does not accept random or inactive info, only after the details are verified will the account be created.
i am stuck at this point. i dont want to provide my contact details to xiaomi. i dont see how creating an account at mi.com is related to connecting the camera to the app – the account creation should be optional. i have requested for a return and refund, but cutomer care tells me their policy allows replacement only.
xiaomi’s policy is flawed at multiple levels:
1. the mandatory need to have a mi account is not specified before the purchase, anywhere – not on the box, not on the website, not by any sales person. they all instruct to download the mi home app and connect the camera – which is how all security cameras operate. by not disclosing the mandatory account creation step, they are indulging in an unfair trade practice.
2.buyers are presented with the demand for contact details only after they have paid the money. at which point most of them feel outsmarted, and helpless and share the details unwillingly. this is a deceptive tactic to extract valuable data. so it is cheating.
3. when you give xiaomi your contact details and then connect you camera – which will have a unique serial number – you are allowing xiaomi to create a one to one correlation between the user and the camera. in short, it knows who is using which camera. this opens a serious privacy and security issue.
to elaborate : unlike other manufacturers that simply allow the camera to connect, and thus can track the camera id, and ip address only, xiaomi gets too close to the user – it now knows your identity down to your active email id, phone number or facebook id.
given that xiaomi is a chinese company, where it is normal to keep every citizen under surveillance, this policy seems ok. but in india, this is a breach of privacy at a personal level, and on a national level a security risk.
imagine, if you were to write something of interest to the chinese govt on your fb page. under chinese law every chinese company is bound to disclose data when asked, so xiaomi will give all information linked to that fb id. you catch the drift, right?
now the above scenario may seem quite remote, but even if xiaomi promises that the database containing the information on contact details and camera id is adequately protected, it is open to hacking. and hacking is quite common. in other countries, manufacturers admit such incidents, but in case of xiaomi, coming from a secretive nation, such episodes need not come to light in time - like the corona infection.
as the latest victim of xiaomi, i am planning to send a petition to relevant ministries to inform them about xiaomi’s policy. secondly, i am planning to file a complaint with the consumer court (first stop is jagograhakjago website).
i am sure many of desidime’s users have or know someone who has bought Xiaomis camera and linked it to the Mi home app unwillingly or unwittingly. if any of such people are interested to join in the petition and complaint please comment below.
