Best buy discontinuing mobile platform for smart home devices

Best Buy has announced it is discontinuing its mobile app platform for controlling its Insignia brand of smart home devices. Some of the products include its Insignia smart wall plugs, Wi-Fi light switches, smart camera, and its Wi-Fi freezer.

Chris Olson, CEO of The Media TrustIn the post GDPR world, operating an app, not to mention a smart home platform, will be costlier than ever. The business model relies heavily on hoovering up consumer data, and that data is coming under fire from a growing number of data privacy laws around the world. These laws require companies collecting information on consumers to provide the right data security protections; have processes for consumers to request and obtain all the information that has been collected on them; obtain informed consent from consumers for the collection of their data; and, if in violation of the laws, pay hefty penalties. The likelihood of being hacked is higher than ever with digital threats continually evolving; meanwhile regulators are showing no signs of shying away from carrying out their newfound authority. Increasingly, businesses must ask themselves whether they have the right processes and protections in place to support a data-driven business model.”