Pronto in-home AI recording pilot raises consent, privacy concerns
Pronto in-home AI recording pilot raises consent, privacy concerns
Publish Date: 2026-05-27 08:15:00
Source Domain: www.medianama.com
Pronto’s in-home AI recording pilot, first reported by Entrackr, has raised questions about how India’s privacy framework applies to commercial AI data collection inside private homes. Pronto’s privacy policy, last updated on November 9, 2024, a year before the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules were notified in November 2025, makes no mention of video recording, AI training, physical AI labs, or children’s data. Yet the company has publicly said it “worked for months to ensure we go above and beyond what we’re required to do by the law” for a programme that collects footage inside customers’ homes for physical AI and robotics training.
MediaNama sent Pronto a detailed questionnaire covering consent, children’s data, privacy disclosures, and downstream sharing of footage. The company had not responded by the time of publication. This story will be updated once we receive a response. For a full account of Pronto’s recording programme, read our explainer here.
What does Pronto’s privacy policy actually say? Pronto operates as Swachh Saathi Private Limited. Its privacy policy, last updated November 9, 2024, predates the DPDP Rules by over a year and has not been updated since. What it does not mention:
- No mention of video footage or in-home recordings anywhere in the document.
- No mention of AI training as a purpose for data collection.
- No mention of physical AI labs as third-party recipients of data, despite Pronto’s investor memo describing it as “developing a data business” selling footage to “leading physical AI labs.”
- No mention of children’s data or any mechanism for verifiable parental consent.
- Data retention contradiction: the policy states data may be used “indefinitely” for research purposes, directly contradicting Pronto’s blog claim that footage is deleted within 48 hours.
- Blanket consent-by-use: “By using the Services, you confirm that you have read and agree to be bound…
