New creepy Samsung patent spies on your breath through WiFi router

Samsung has patented a new technology that puts a heart rate and breath monitor into your internet router.

As technology advances, brands innovate to make mundane tech lying at your home smarter than ever. At CES 2024, we saw an example of mind-reading headphones and heard that Apple might make the upcoming AirPods a health-tracking device.

While we agree that smart wearables are familiar concepts, the latest patent from Samsung is a step beyond. The South Korean tech giant is claimed to have patented multiple technologies that will allow us to get the maximum out of your internet router.

According to the reports, the patent “Multi-Antenna Wi-Fi Breathing Rate Estimation” filed by Samsung suggests that it has the technology to monitor human breath in a household.

Another patent called “Passive Breathing-Rate Determination” will analyze audible breathing patterns in your house. To achieve this, Samsung plans to use microphones built into connected devices.

The data collected from both solutions will offer timely alerts and help prevent serious medical issues. Additionally, the anomalies in respiratory patterns could also help identify intruders and raise an alarm, especially when no one is at home or when everyone is sleeping.

Creepy or caring?

Routers are designed to broadcast radio frequencies continuously. While these frequencies help you connect to the internet, they also bounce off from any obstacle or may alter their path thanks to even a tiny movement.

Brands like Samsung and others want to use this feature to develop non-wearable respiratory health tech. While this might sound highly invasive and pose a serious privacy breach risk, the benefits could outweigh the cons.

Most of these projects are still at the patent stage; there is no guarantee that they will see the light of day, or even become actual products.