Could your buzzer app’s data end up training AI?
Most buzzer app privacy policies say nothing about AI, which means they have not ruled it out. User data has reached AI training before through quiet terms changes and licensing deals, and 88% of Canadians say they are concerned about it. BuzzMeBro’s policy states that your information is never used to train AI models, by BuzzMeBro or by anyone else.
Two years ago nobody read a privacy policy looking for the word “AI”. Now it is the first thing worth searching for, because the value of a pile of user data changed. Records that were once only useful to advertisers are now raw material for anyone building a model.
You are not imagining the risk
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada surveys Canadians about privacy every two years. In the most recent survey, 88% had some level of concern about their personal information being used to train AI systems, and 42% were extremely concerned. That is nearly as many as worry about their data being sold.
The three ways user data reaches AI
1. The terms change
In 2023, Zoom updated its terms with language broad enough to cover AI training on customer content. It took a public backlash before the company stated that it does not use audio, video or chat to train AI models. Most people never saw the original change.
2. The setting is already on
In 2024, LinkedIn began using member data to train AI with the setting switched on by default. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner raised it with the company, which paused the practice for Canadian users that December. An opt-out you have to find is not the same as being asked.
3. The data is licensed
In 2024, Reddit announced a deal giving Google access to its users’ posts and comments for AI. The people who wrote those posts were not party to it. Once a company treats what its users gave it as something it can license, the users are not in the room.
Why a buzzer app is part of this conversation
A buzzer service is small, but what it holds is specific: every adult’s phone number in a household, the address and unit, and a record of when the door opens. Some newer buzzer products go further and use AI to answer the intercom, which means call audio is being processed by a model.
On 30 September 2026 we read the privacy policies of nine other buzzer services open to Canadian renters. Eight of them do not mention AI or model training at all. One, Buzzly, says it uses third-party AI tools that may process account details, support conversations and call history, and that those providers are restricted from training on the data.
What to look for
- Search the policy for “AI”, “machine learning” and “train” No results means no commitment either way.
- Search for “improve our services” This is the phrase that usually covers new uses of old data. On its own it is harmless. Beside a broad licence, it is the opening.
- Check who the data can be shared with “Partners” and “affiliates” are open categories. A named list of providers, each with one job, is a closed one.
- Read the clause on selling the company A careful company can be bought by a less careful one. The policy should bind the buyer.
The whole check takes five minutes. The full method is here.
What BuzzMeBro’s policy says
A buzz through BuzzMeBro is a phone call. The lobby panel calls a number, your phones ring, and a key press opens the door. No call audio is recorded or stored, and nothing about your household is sent to an AI company.
The privacy policy makes that a commitment and not a description. Your information is never used to train AI models. It is never sold, licensed or given to any company so that they can train theirs. If BuzzMeBro is ever sold, your data is deleted before the sale, so a buyer never gets it.
One thing worth being exact about: BuzzMeBro’s public buzzer guides are open to AI assistants on purpose, so that somebody asking an assistant about their buzzer gets a correct answer. Those are articles. Customer data is a separate thing. It is never used to train AI and never handed to an AI company. BuzzMeBro is $9.99 a month for the apartment, and that subscription is the only thing it earns from.
Questions people ask
Can an app use my data to train AI without asking me?
It depends on what its privacy policy and terms allow. Canadian privacy law is built on consent, but broad wording such as “improve our services” is often treated as covering new uses. A policy that rules AI training out in writing removes the question.
Do buzzer apps use AI?
Some do. A few newer products use AI to answer the intercom or to support customers. Most buzzer app policies say nothing about AI either way. BuzzMeBro sends no customer data to AI providers, and its policy says your information is never used to train AI models.
How do I opt out of AI training in Canada?
There is no single switch. Each service has its own setting, if it has one at all. The reliable protection is choosing services whose policies rule it out, so there is nothing to opt out of.
Does BuzzMeBro give my data to AI companies?
No. BuzzMeBro’s privacy policy states that your information is never used to train AI models and is never sold, licensed or given to any company so that they can train theirs. If BuzzMeBro is ever sold, your data is deleted before the sale.