Cylab of the Carnegie Mellon University recently released an app aimed at discovering Internet of Things (IoT)-based devices and sharing information about them with smartphone users based on their GPS location.
Called the ‘IoT Assistant App’, it is available for free in Google Play and Apple’s App Store. According to a report today in RFID Journal, the Cylab team has also created an IoT Privacy Infrastructure Portal. Here, users can find resources in IoT while IoT companies can use this platform to showcase their resources. Till date, approximately 2,000 resources are displayed, primarily cameras.
The app, currently available in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, parts of Europe and the United Kingdom, notifies individuals regarding any IoT devices collecting data within their vicinity. Users cannot manage settings through the app itself, but instead are redirected via the app to IoT provider sites where they can adjust settings for that particular system.
The solution is designed not only to provide consumers with greater control over their own data and privacy, but also to serve as a vehicle for owners of the IoT systems to publicize the presence of their resources and data practices,
Image credit: iotprivacy.io