Earlier this 12 months, Anker, the Chinese language firm that makes Eufy safety cameras, provided its customers cash in alternate for movies of bundle and automobile thefts.
The favored internet-connected safety digicam maker said it would pay its customers $2 per video to train its AI systems to assist higher detect thieves who steal vehicles and packages.
“To make sure we’ve sufficient knowledge, we’re in search of movies of each actual and staged occasions, to assist practice the Al what to be looking out for,” the corporate wrote on its web site.
“You may even create occasions by pretending to be a thief and donate these occasions,” the web site reads. “You may full this shortly. Perhaps one act may be captured by your two out of doors cameras concurrently, making it environment friendly and simple. In case you additionally stage a automobile door theft, you may earn $80.”
Eufy additionally wrote that “the info collected from these staged occasions is used solely for coaching our Al algorithms and never for another functions.”
This initiative exhibits that corporations are keen to pay to get customers’ knowledge they suppose may be helpful to coach their AI fashions. Whereas this offers some customers the power to get worth out of their very own knowledge, there are safety and privateness dangers concerned.
Working example: Final week, TechCrunch discovered that Neon, a viral calling app that provided cash to customers keen to share recordings and transcripts of their calls, had a safety flaw that allowed customers to entry another person’s knowledge. After being alerted of the safety lapse, Neon went offline.
A whole lot of hundreds of movies ‘donated’ to coach AI
Eufy’s marketing campaign providing $2 per video for theft movies ran from December 18, 2024, to February 25, 2025. Greater than 120 customers responded on the marketing campaign’s announcement web page saying they participated in it, based on feedback posted by customers there.
The corporate’s aim was to gather 20,000 movies every of bundle thefts and of “pulling automobile doorways.” Eufy customers might take part by filling out a Google Form the place they may add movies and their PayPal account for fee.
Eufy didn’t reply to TechCrunch’s requests for remark and our questions, akin to what number of customers participated within the marketing campaign, how a lot cash it paid these customers, what number of movies the corporate collected, and whether or not the corporate deleted the collected movies after coaching its AI techniques.
Since then, Eufy has comparable campaigns aimed toward incentivizing its prospects to ship in movies to coach their AI.
As of the time of publication, by means of one other in-app marketing campaign that Eufy calls the Video Donation Program to enhance its AI techniques, Eufy additionally affords customers rewards that vary from an “Apprentice Medal,” which seems to easily be a badge subsequent to the person’s identify within the app, to presents akin to cameras or reward playing cards.
Eufy is barely asking for movies involving people for this marketing campaign.
The Eufy app additionally exhibits an “Honor Wall” that ranks customers who’ve donated probably the most video occasions. The chief of the rating has donated 201,531 movies, based on the app.
Within the app’s web page for the donation program, Eufy clarifies that “donated movies are solely used for Al coaching and enchancment. Eufy is not going to present the video to 3rd events.”
Eufy additionally asks users to donate movies recorded with the corporate’s child screens. The assist web page detailing the steps to share the movies doesn’t point out any cash reward for these movies.
Eufy didn’t reply when requested about this explicit initiative.
There are causes to be uncertain of Eufy’s commitments to guard customers’ privateness. In 2023, The Verge revealed that the corporate tried to cowl up that customers’ digicam streams, which the corporate marketed as end-to-end encrypted, have been unencrypted when accessed by means of its internet portal.
After a back-and-forth with the tech information web site, Anker admitted it misled customers and promised to repair the difficulty.
This text was initially printed on October 1.