Urgent warning air fryers could be spying on users and listening in on conversations

Startling research from Which? has revealed that some air fryers may be getting a little too involved in consumers' personal lives, with certain models asking for permissions to eavesdrop on conversations. Despite the popularity of these kitchen wonders for their ability to cook with hot air rather than oil—offering a healthier twist to traditional deep-fat frying methods—privacy concerns have come to light.

The Mirror recently put several air fryers to the test, acknowledging their top spots on many early Christmas wish lists.

The investigation assessed air fryers against criteria like consent, transparency, data security, and more, ultimately assigning each an overall privacy score. Commenting on the findings, Harry Rose, the editor of Which? magazine, warned: "Our research shows how smart tech manufacturers and the firms they work with are currently able to collect data from consumers, seemingly with reckless abandon, and this is often done with little or no transparency."

Three products—the Aigostar, Xiaomi Mi Smart, and Cosori CAF-LI401S—were notably invasive, requiring precise location data and permissions to record audio from users' phones. The Xiaomi's connected app even reached out to trackers from Facebook, Pangle, and Tencent, depending on where the user was, whilst Aigostar wanted to know users' gender and birth date upon account setup.

In the meantime, the air fryers by Aigostar and Xiaomi both transmitted personal information to servers in China; however, this was mentioned in their privacy policies. Responding to concerns, a Xiaomi representative informed Mail Online: "The permission to record audio on Xiaomi Home app is not applicable to Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer which does not operate directly through voice commands and video chat."

Additionally, a Cosori spokesperson said, "We prioritise privacy, and subject to our internal compliance requirements, the smart products must comply with GDPR."

Aigostar has been contacted by The Mirror for a statement. The air fryer's fire risk is further emphasized by an incident involving retired teacher Rebecca Sim, who lives in Greater Manchester. Her one-year-old Tower brand device suddenly caught fire, shocking her as she witnessed the flames.