When software support ends, product safety changes
Read the full briefing →Smart products depend on updates, apps and cloud services long after purchase. With six in ten UK adults using smart or IoT products, the published support period has become part of a product’s practical safety life.
- 59% reported owning or using smart appliances or IoT devices in the previous year
- UK consumer connectable-product security rules have applied since 29 April 2024
- Manufacturers must publish a minimum security-update period and an end date
- Universal default and easily guessable passwords are banned for products in scope
- NCSC says out-of-support smart devices are easier to hack or may stop working
- A 2025 smartwatch burn-risk case was addressed through a remote firmware update