The toaster reveals its secrets

[Daisy]

What do you think - is this a really clever idea to help keep vulnerable people a bit safer in their homes, or a gross invasion of their privacy open to colossal misuse?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-57009375

[Oma]

Now on one hand its a good idea then on the other its like big brother ,

I know when my Mother was alive she would often leave the oven on sometimes for hours if she went out and forgot it , it happened more often than I care to admit ,
I have called over and the kitchen has been really hot its been on so long .

On the other hand people change routine and if family are constantly ringing them asking why they haven't used this or that or why they have used it twice in one day , I think they would become upset they are being spied on .

It depends on the individual I suppose .
On the whole if you have a parent or loved one living alone and maybe you worry they not looking after themselves then its a good idea .

[Gemini]

I think for someone living alone, with Alzheimers, it may be useful. Generally I think it's a bit odd though.

[Nanto2girls]

I'm not sure about this. In a way i suppose it could be a good thing.

[Daisy]

It does say, somewhere in the article, that this technology is a work in progress and the company doing it are designing it so that it 'learns' the usual routine of the household. I think this is some sort of pilot scheme.

I thought it could be really useful provided the data is secure and can't be used for other purposes.

My MIL was living alone when she suffered a stroke during the night. It was lunch-time the following day when her neighbour noticed Mum hadn't taken in her milk, and she phoned my BIL who lived nearby. That 12 hour delay in treatment meant that too much damage had been done for her to make a good recovery. An alert to say she hadn't say, switched on the kettle would have meant my BIL would have gone round first thing in the morning.

[Gemini]

I can see that would have been so useful Daisy.