Anker pays Eufy owners $2 per video for AI training data

Earlier this year, Anker, the Chinese company behind Eufy security cameras, launched a program that compensated users for submitting videos of package and car thefts. The firm explicitly sought footage of both genuine and staged incidents, asserting on its website that such data was crucial "to help train the Al what to be on the lookout for."

Notably, Eufy's instructions explicitly encouraged users to actively create these scenarios. "You can even create events by pretending to be a thief and donate those events," the company stated, suggesting efficiency by capturing "one act" with multiple outdoor cameras simultaneously. It even quantified potential earnings, noting that staging a car door theft "might earn $80." Eufy underscored that "the data collected from these staged events is used solely for training our Al algorithms and not for any other purposes," attempting to assuage potential concerns.

This initiative sheds light on a broader trend: companies' increasing willingness to compensate users for data considered valuable in training AI models. While this offers some individuals a means to monetize their own data, it simultaneously raises significant security and privacy implications that warrant careful consideration.

The initial campaign, offering $2 per theft video, ran from December 18, 2024, to February 25, 2025. According to user comments on the campaign's announcement page, over 120 individuals reported participating. However, Eufy remained unresponsive to TechCrunch's inquiries regarding the total number of participants, the overall sum disbursed, the volume of videos collected, or whether the company subsequently deleted the footage after AI training.

Since then, Eufy has launched similar campaigns, continually incentivizing its customers to submit videos for the enhancement of its AI systems. Among these is an ongoing in-app "Video Donation Program," aimed at further improving Eufy's AI. This program offers a range of rewards, from an "Apprentice Medal" – essentially a badge displayed next to the user's name – to more tangible gifts like cameras or gift cards. For this specific campaign, Eufy focuses on videos involving human subjects.

The Eufy app further promotes participation through an "Honor Wall," publicly ranking users based on the number of video events they have donated. The current leading contributor, according to the app, has provided a staggering 201,531 videos. Within the donation program's app page, Eufy reiterates its commitment to privacy, clarifying that "donated videos are only used for Al training and improvement. Eufy will not provide the video to third parties." Despite these clarifications, Eufy once again did not respond when asked about this particular initiative.

Ultimately, after a back-and-forth with the tech news site, Anker admitted to having misled users and committed to rectifying the problem.