Air fryers and other smart gadgets are spying on us and sending the information to China, according to a new study.
Kitchen gadgets, home speakers, and smartphones are listening in on our conversations, with the data being forwarded on to other countries.
Consumer group Which? carried out tests on a variety of regularly used at-home devices to check on the privacy levels.
Their data found that air fryers made by Xioami, Aigostar and Cosori all were able to record audio on users' phones for no specified reason, as well as find out and share the customer's precise location.
The Aigostar and Xiaomi fryers then both sent people's personal data to servers in China and the Xiaomi app connected to trackers from Facebook and TikTok.
It is believed this data was then used to target personalised adverts to the consumer.
All of the air fryers tested were found to need users to give their privacy consent to work properly, meaning customers have no way of stopping being listened to.
Many other everyday gadgets are also “stuffed with trackers”, say researchers.
Trackers are software in an app that monitors data about your activity, including how you use the app, your location and the device you are using.
Gadgets including smart TVs, home speakers and smartwatches were also found to be spying on consumers in their own home.
The researchers said that smart TV menus were "littered with ads and thirsty for user data".
During tests, it was said that Samsung's TV app requested eight "risky" phone permissions, including being able to see all the other apps on a phone.
The Huawei smartphone was also found to give “invasive access to parts of someone's phone, including precise location, the ability to record audio, access to stored files and the ability to see all the other apps installed.”
Which? added that the Bose portable home speaker and app were "stuffed with trackers, including Facebook, Google and digital marketing firm Urban Airship”.
In response, Huawei said it took consumers' privacy "incredibly seriously" while Xiaomi added that it made sure to adhere to all UK data protection laws and did "not sell any personal information to third parties".
Cosori said its smart products "must comply with GDPR [data protection laws]”, while Aigostar did not comment.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said they would be issuing new guidance for manufacturers about best practices.
Slavka Bielikova, principal policy adviser at the ICO, said: "The results from Which?'s testing of smart products show that many products not only fail to meet our expectations for data protection but also consumer expectations.
“(We need to) outline clear expectations for what they need to do to comply with data protection laws."
