Google now letting Xiaomi cameras re-connect to its platform
Google has given the nod, allowing Chinese tech firm Xiaomi to reconnect to its platform, and feed video footage from its cameras back on to Google displays like the Nest Hub Max.
Xiaomi had been blocked earlier this month, January 2020, after video feed from random homes had been picked up and showed on other people's Home Hub displays. That caused Google to essentially block Xiaomi from accessing its platforms until the Chinese company could figure out what had happened — and fixed it.
Xiaomi told 9to5Google that the problem has been "fully resolved," and that the link between its cameras and Google Assistant should now be up and running.
"We now confirm that we have fully resolved the root cause of this issue, and Xiaomi's Google integration service has resumed from 16, January," Xiaomi said. "Users can now use Xiaomi's Mi security camera services via Nest devices. At Xiaomi, we take user privacy and information security as top priority. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused for affected users. We will take even stronger measures to prevent such incidents in the future."
Showing feeds, but not their own
The original problem was discovered not by Google but by someone on Reddit, a user who goes by name Dio-V, and who posted that their hub had images playing on it — from strangers' homes. The images were static, but in one a sleeping child could be seen.
Dio-V noted that they had a Xiaomi smart security camera installed in their home — and that it was set up to play images taken on their personal smart home display. But that wasn't what they were seeing. Google responded by disabling the way Xiaomi integrated with its devices while the Chinese firm worked on what was causing the privacy breach.
The problem appeared to be one of caching, sparked by an update to improve the quality of the camera streams on December 26, 2019. That issue now appears to be resolved, as Google has lifted the ban, allowing Xiaomi cameras to once again reconnect to Nest devices and Google Assistant.
