Amazon Faces Privacy Backlash, Sidewalk Feature

Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images Amazon Sidewalk is launching in the US as an opt-out feature that will connect Echo and Ring doorbells to any nearby Alexa device, even those owned by your neighbors. Amazon said Sidewalk uses WiFi from neighbors to create "a shared network that helps devices work better," but some raised privacy concerns. Amazon users are being automatically opted into Sidewalk, a feature that will connect Alexa devices to nearby WiFi networks, even those owned by someone else. It allows nearby devices to use a portion of a neighbor's WiFi bandwidth, so that devices can have more range.