Amazon Set to Share Your Internet With Neighbors – How to Opt-Out

Come this Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Amazon will launch the Amazon Sidewalk service. This service for Echo and Ring devices automatically opts-in to share your internet bandwidth with other Amazon devices in the neighborhood.

At first glance, this service is a great idea. Share a small slice of your internet bandwidth – 80Kb/s and a 500Mb monthly cap – with other Echo and Ring devices that have lost connection with their home wi-fi. For example, if your next door neighbors’ Ring doorbell loses connection with the home wi-fi, the Ring doorbell will automatically connect with the neighbor’s home wi-fi for uninterrupted service. Or if a dog wearing a Tile escapes from their yard, as long as the dog is within range of a network using Amazon Sidewalk, the Tile will accurately report the location of the dog.

Add on to this service that it is free to Echo and Ring customers (well, at least initially), and it is a great deal.

However, there are only a few big-tech companies that have proven to handle internet privacy responsibly, and Amazon is not one of them.

The Amazon Sidewalk white paper states that any sensitive data transmitted through Sidewalk is encrypted and that Amazon does not have a way to decrypt the packets. If that is true, they need to start hiring better engineers. Even if it is true, very serious hacks of secure systems is a daily news item.

Perhaps my biggest gripe is that the system is set to automatically opt-in. I’ll take this as tacit acknowledgement by Amazon the many/most of it’s customers would choose to opt-out instead.

What You Can Do – Opt-Out

If you have an eligible Echo or Ring device and do nothing, you are automatically part of the Amazon Sidewalk system.

If you prefer to not be a part of the Amazon Sidewalk system, follow these steps:

For Amazon Echo Device Owners

1. Open your Amazon Alexa App.
2. Select the More option in the bottom right corner of your screen.
3. Select Settings > Account Settings > Amazon Sidewalk.
4. Toggle the Amazon Sidewalk to Disabled.
5. Close the Amazon Alexa app.

For Amazon Ring Device Owners

1. Open your Ring app.
2. Select the 3-line icon to open the menu, then go to Control Center > Amazon Sidewalk.
3. Toggle the Amazon Sidewalk to Disabled.
4. Close the Ring app.