iRobot's own privacy policy and support documentation state that Roomba mapping and usage data can be controlled by the customer, that data is encrypted, and that iRobot does not sell customer data to third parties, with third-party sharing limited to opt-in smart-home integrations. Separately, a 2022 investigative report documented that images captured by development-version Roomba J7 vacuums were sent to a third-party data-annotation contractor and later leaked online by contract workers, and the company's ownership has changed twice in recent years — first through a terminated Amazon acquisition (cited by the FTC for consumer-privacy concerns) and then through a 2025-2026 Chapter 11 bankruptcy that transferred full equity to China-based Shenzhen PICEA Robotics.
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[2024-01-31]
The FTC's January 2024 statement on the termination of the Amazon-iRobot merger said its investigation into the deal focused on Amazon's ability to favor its own products over rivals' and associated effects on innovation, entry barriers, and consumer privacy.
According to a 2022 MIT Technology Review investigation, development versions of iRobot's Roomba J7 series robot vacuum captured images inside real homes, including intimate scenes, as part of a data-collection process for AI training (data annotation).
iRobot's privacy policy states that through app settings, customers may choose not to transmit map data, and may optionally choose to send images of obstacles to help improve services.
Amazon and iRobot announced via an SEC 8-K filing that they mutually agreed to terminate their August 2022 acquisition agreement in January 2024, citing lack of a path to regulatory approval in the European Union.
iRobot's customer-support page states that no data is sold to third parties and that data will not be shared with third parties without the customer's knowledge or control, with sharing limited to opt-in smart-home integrations such as IFTTT, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
MIT Technology Review reported that images captured by iRobot's Roomba J7 development devices were sent to Scale AI, a third-party contractor that hires gig workers to label training data, and that gig workers in Venezuela subsequently posted some of these images, including intimate household scenes, to social media in 2020.
MIT Technology Review reported in December 2022 that iRobot confirmed gig workers outside the US had broken a non-disclosure agreement by sharing intimate photos captured by Roomba development devices to social media, and that iRobot subsequently terminated its contract with the data-annotation vendor Scale AI.
The FTC's January 2024 statement on the termination of the Amazon-iRobot merger said its investigation into the deal focused on Amazon's ability to favor its own products over rivals' and associated effects on innovation, entry barriers, and consumer privacy.
iRobot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on December 14, 2025, entering a restructuring support agreement with secured lender and primary manufacturer Shenzhen PICEA Robotics, after its proposed acquisition by Amazon had collapsed in 2024.
iRobot's customer-support FAQ states that mapping and navigation information captured via VSLAM on the 900 Series, i Series, s Series and Braava jet m Series "stays on the robot," while separate usage data (cleaning duration, distance, error codes) is sent to the cloud.
iRobot's privacy policy discloses that the company and its third-party service providers may collect usage information through cookies and other tracking technologies when a user visits the iRobot website, uses its apps, or opens its emails.