So, how well do you know your neighbors? Hopefully, you have a good relationship with them. Maybe once in a while, you can borrow a cup of sugar, or maybe some gas for the lawnmower, but how about sharing your internet with them?

Texans are coming off the long holiday weekend with news that Amazon products they have at home may soon begin sharing an internet connection with the ones in the home next door. Yup, it's called Amazon's 'Sidewalk Network' and if you are thinking you may have some catching up to do on what this actually is, you'll also want to know that you only have about a week left to OPT-OUT of this service if it doesn't sound like something that is right for you. It's being called a wi-fi sharing experiment by sources like this story from slashgear.com.

What is Amazon's 'Sidewalk Network'?

I don't know about you but I'm not one for being experimented on and we sure have seen a lot of that over the past year right? Experimental vaccine anyone? Well, here comes experimental wi-fi that could, in theory, compromise your privacy.

Mesh networks are not new, but sharing one throughout your neighborhood is. The idea behind the 'Sidewalk Network' is that if your wi-fi dies, the new experiment from Amazon would allow those devices to jump onto this 'Sidewalk Network' in an attempt to prevent disruption of your device.

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How Does 'Sidewalk Network' Work?

KHOU.com reports Amazon products like Alexa, Echo, Ring doorbell, security cameras, and tile trackers are now set to automatically enroll themselves into the 'Sidewalk Network' on June 8th. That's about a week away! So, with this service, should your connection drop off your device will just join up with your neighbor's connection. 

How Can I Opt-Out?

Curious, there is no way to opt-out of this service by going to Amazon's website and login in. The opt-out has to be done with the Alexa App according to multiple guides like the one from KHOU.com.

Open the Alexa App and open the "More" menu. Select "Settings", then "Account Settings", select "Amazon Sidewalk" and you'll find "Disable Sidewalk".
Don't have the Alexa app? You'll need to go get it and install it to be able to opt out of the service for the devices in your home. Some critics are not happy about this as many users will just go with the default settings and may never hear about the new shared network until after their devices have already become a part of the network.

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