When you need to drop off your tech devices for a repair, how confident are you that they won’t be snooped on?

CBC’s Marketplace took smartphones and laptops to repair stores across Ontario — including large chains Best Buy and Mobile Klinik — and found that in more than half of the documented cases, technicians accessed intimate photos and private information not relevant to the repair.

Marketplace dropped off devices at 20 stores, ranging from small independent shops to medium-sized chains to larger national chains, after installing monitoring software on the devices. In total, 16 stores were recorded. (At four stores, the tracking software didn’t log anything, or the stores didn’t appear to turn the devices on.)

Technicians at nine stores accessed private data, including one technician who not only viewed photos but copied them onto a USB key.

  • Harpsist@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    40
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I have never - ever - dropped a device off anywhere.

    I have spent hours and hours learning new skills, trouble shooting, and engaging in forums with people who know better than me.

    But just drop it off? Never.

    Wait wait.

    I dropped off my ps2 to get modded.