> What valuable data can they collect, if nobody is using it?
What permissions does the app have? If it has location data so it can open/close the garage door based on proximity, it can probably collect your location whenever the phone is on and that can be sold to data brokers. That's just an example. There is potentially a trove of information the app could collect and sell and not just when the user has the app open.
Of course if the app is never installed it collects nothing. I wonder if the vendor requires the app to be installed for initial configuration.
And IAC, it would be preferable (to me) to have a device that works entirely locally.
What permissions does the app have? If it has location data so it can open/close the garage door based on proximity, it can probably collect your location whenever the phone is on and that can be sold to data brokers. That's just an example. There is potentially a trove of information the app could collect and sell and not just when the user has the app open.
Of course if the app is never installed it collects nothing. I wonder if the vendor requires the app to be installed for initial configuration.
And IAC, it would be preferable (to me) to have a device that works entirely locally.