Amazon’s Sidewalk Feature Will Share Your Internet Connection Starting June 8 – Here’s How to Opt-Out.
Launching June 8 on Echo speakers, Ring products, Tile trackers and more, Amazon’s low-bandwidth internet-of-things network lets your smart home stretch beyond Wi-Fi range. Sidewalk works by having users of these products share a small portion of their bandwidth with other Amazon customers, enabling neighboring devices to connect at long-range. Amazon says the network will allow users to locate lost keys or missing pets, set up and fix devices remotely, and work over longer distances. Sidewalk is also built into AWS, Amazon’s cloud technology platform. This will allow software developers to create applications that take advantage of the technology.
How to Opt-Out of Sidewalk
To disable this feature, head to the More tab in the Alexa app on your phone and select Settings. Go to Account Settings, look for Amazon Sidewalk, and toggle the service off. You can turn it back on again whenever you feel comfortable doing so. The good news here is that you won’t have to perform the same steps for every Echo and Ring device you have installed in your home. Adjusting that setting in one spot will disable Sidewalk for all of your Amazon devices.
