Smartaira & plume wifi motion detection

Background

Smartaira is an internet service provider that specializes in bulk broadband solutions for multi‑dwelling units (MDUs) like apartment complexes. Instead of residents choosing their own internet provider for their apartment, the property owner contracts Smartaira to provide service throughout the building. Smartaira installs & manages the network infrastructure, including community‑wide Wi‑Fi & in‑unit wired Ethernet jacks; each apartment connects with private credentials to a secure virtual LAN (VLAN).

Plume's motion sensing technology, known as "Plume Motion" or "Sense," uses Wi‑Fi signal disruptions to detect movement in the home. This allows a Wi‑Fi router to double as a passive motion detector by analyzing how wireless signals fluctuate when someone moves through a space.

In installations where Smartaira & Plume jointly provide internet to residents, access points are typically pre‑installed in each unit, & residents are provided personal Wi‑Fi credentials with VLAN isolation. In‑unit access points expose Ethernet ports for wired devices, & residents may request pass‑through to use a personal router (with limited support).

Incident

In bulk, community‑managed deployments, the network is designed as a community‑wide wireless architecture with per‑apartment private credentials & VLAN separation, meaning all apartments connect to one centrally managed system while keeping traffic logically isolated. This also enables centralized administration of the hardware & services across all units.

Plume's privacy documentation confirms that when motion detection is active, the system collects information on motion in the home as "disruptions in Wi‑Fi waves" & maintains a pattern of motion & motion history; Plume also states it draws inferences to create a profile reflecting preferences, characteristics, & behavior.

Legal context

Plume's U.S. Privacy Rights Notice serves as a CCPA/CPRA "Notice at Collection" & lists categories of data processed for Plume Home, including "motion in the home … collected as disruptions in Wi‑Fi waves … which collectively provide a pattern of motion & motion history," as well as inferences drawn to create behavioral profiles. Plume's Customer Privacy Policy further clarifies that a Customer Network administrator can disable motion sensing, at which point Plume will no longer collect live motion data or generate motion reports. However, this does not mean that the tenant has the ability to disable motion sensing.

Business context

Smartaira markets both retail & bulk (owner‑provided) delivery models for apartment buildings. In the bulk model, the property owner purchases service & resells it as an amenity to all residents; Smartaira integrates the service with property management systems & proactively monitors & manages the network.

Consumer impact

The presence of Wi‑Fi‑based motion detection & motion history in a centrally administered, bulk network raises tenant privacy concerns about occupancy tracking & behavioral profiling in the home, given Plume's documentation of motion histories & inferences. Plume provides user‑facing motion alert notifications & a motion history view in its app, showing the granularity of data available about in‑home activity patterns. In administrator‑managed networks, Plume states that the Customer Network administrator, NOT the resident, has the option to disable motion sensing, which is relevant to opt‑out control in bulk deployments.