Pozio has launched the Pozio Cradle at CES 2022. The device is a phone charging cradle that the manufacturer says will block the always-on listening mode that most smartphones use. The first shipments are expected to happen in March 2022. The website states a price of $199.
Dave Nickel, CEO of Pozio, said: “Our smartphones are with us 24/7. We carry them with us all day long, and when we sleep, they’re placed on the nightstand next to us to charge. If smartphones were a person, that person would hear our most sensitive conversations and know everything there is to know about us, including our finances, mental and physical health, relationship status and more. Should that sensitive information get into the wrong hands it could be problematic to say the least.
“We are offering the world’s first wireless phone charger that blocks our smartphones from listening to us until we want them to.”
How does the Pozio Cradle work?
There is little information about the underlying technology. However, the company says that users place their phone in its cradle, which blocks the smartphone microphone from working.
The Qi wireless charging cradle also has a microphone that will respond to a single command, “Pozio Stop”. That stops the cradle from blocking the smartphone for 30 seconds, allowing the user to interact with their device.
The company claims that while it listens for that one command, that is all it is listening for. There is no connection to the Internet from the cradle and no built-in storage for capturing conversations. As such, the company says this is an unhackable privacy-protecting device.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean?
As devices get smarter and we carry more of them, privacy is becoming a rare commodity. Those who care, turn off the microphone on smartphones, but Pozio claims this defeats the purpose and convenience of the device. Of course, that view depends on what you use the smartphone for and your appetite for risk.
The Pozio Cradle will appeal to those interested in privacy and who want the voice activation capabilities of their device. It will give them a way to control what is being listened to, but only if they are willing to constantly cradle their smartphone. It is likely to have the most impact at the office desk and in bedrooms. In both situations, a cradle makes sense but will Pozio offer a two cradle bundle?
