Wyze security camera users stumbled upon a possible privacy breach, as customers reported seeing the feeds and camera logs of other users.
An r/wyzecam Reddit post from Sept. 8 documents the reactions of users who were able to look into and view events from other peoples' homes via the company's web viewer, The Verge reported. Users alleged that the same home camera feeds were being shown to multiple other users, as well.
"Would only seem to be a risk for anyone if you had recently logged into the wyze website to view your cameras," wrote user Nickoplier. "Your webpage was 'cached' and then accidently [sic] shared to others visiting the same site. Woops to Wyze! If you never use the web wyze website, would believe you're not at risk of having your cameras accidently [sic] exposed by caching."
Wyze confirmed to The Verge that the merged feeds stemmed from "a web caching issue" that only affected desktop users during a 30-minute time period on Sept. 8. Customer service representatives reassured users on the Reddit thread that the company was working on an immediate fix, but many expressed deeper privacy worries with the home camera system. The company has already been under fire for lax security measures, following last year's discovery of a security flaw that had allowed hackers to access video storage for three years.
"This experience does not reflect our commitment to users or the investments we’ve made over the last few years to enhance security. We are continuing to investigate this issue and will make efforts to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We’re also working to identify affected users," a Wyze spokesperson told The Verge.
Chase joined Mashable's Social Good team in 2020, covering online stories about digital activism, climate justice, accessibility, and media representation. Her work also touches on how these conversations manifest in politics, popular culture, and fandom. Sometimes she's very funny.