Free apartment cleaners powered by AI collect data from your home



Shift advert with a man in a white T‑shirt and Cap, caption: "Your home. Cleaned for free."
Shift advert shows a camera‑clad cleaner offering free service.


Picture this: a team of camera‑clad cleaners and a private chef swoop into your New York flat, tidy rooms and record every move… for free.


In reality, the service is offered by Micro AGI’s “Shift” project, which pays cleaners to clean several apartments a day while their heads hang cameras that stream everything back to the company.


Tonnes of data


Shift’s founder Bercan Kilic said the data is used to teach future robots to navigate varied homes and use odd tools.


“Every kitchen, living room and tool is slightly different, so robots need to adapt,” he told the BBC.



Camera on the worker’s cap shows the kitchen view.
Camera on the worker’s cap shows the work they do cleaning the kitchen from their point of view.


Privacy concerns


Data and privacy advocates warn that giving companies “free” access to your home may spill sensitive footage to third parties.


“Even if you trust the business collecting it, there is always a risk of them sharing that information with other businesses or governments,” said Rory Mir of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.


Not everyone is happy


While some residents like the free cleaning, others argue the price of the data is too high and jeopardises their privacy.


Calli Schroeder of the Electronic Privacy Information Center called the practice “a diabolically creative way to sell privacy invasion.”


Despite the concerns, many cleaners are excited to join the AI wave, noting that the pay is above the industry norm and the experience offers a glimpse into the future of work.


Whether this trend will shape the labor market remains to be seen, but the shift hints that robots could soon take over most repetitive domestic tasks.


See the BBC report on robots helping soldiers on the battlefield.