# Anker Innovations

Anker Innovations Co., Ltd, commonly known as Anker, is a Chinese electronics manufacturer based in Changsha, Hunan, China. The company's product range includes phone chargers, power banks, earbuds, headphones, speakers, data hubs, 3D printers, charging cables, torches (flashlights), and screen protectors, among other products.

## History

Anker was founded in 2011 by Steven Yang in Shenzhen, Guangdong, but the company soon moved its headquarters to Changsha, Hunan. In 2011, Anker expanded its focus from replacement laptop batteries to smartphone battery chargers, wall chargers, portable power and conferencing gear. In early 2014, Anker Innovations hired Zhao Dongping, Google's then-head of sales in China, who eventually became president in 2020.

## Availability

Aside from its domestic market in China, Anker also maintains subsidiaries in Japan, Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Prior to 2016, Anker products were almost exclusively sold on Amazon Marketplace and Newegg. Anker products are also now sold in big box stores such as Best Buy, Target and Kohl's. They are also available on various other e-commerce websites such as Shopee, Amazon, eBay and other third-party websites in agreement with Anker.

## Brands and products

Anker makes power banks, charging cables, wall adapters, power strips, USB hubs, and torches under the Bolder sub-brand. Soundcore makes Bluetooth earbuds, headphones, and speakers. Eufy produces smart home appliances and security devices. Nebula makes portable video projectors. Roav makes car accessories. Zolo was a precursor to the Soundcore brand. KARAPAX made phone cases.
Anker's line of charging cables have the trademarked name PowerLine, with the latest being PowerLine III. These cables have an MFi (Made for iPhone) certification from Apple.
Anker also makes 3D printers and 3D printing filament under the AnkerMake name. They currently have 2 models of 3D printers, one being the M5 and the other being the M5C. The M5 was the first printer that AnkerMake created. It was funded through a Kickstarter campaign.

## Controversies

One of Anker's sub-brands, Eufy, claimed that all data recorded by their webcams was stored locally with no cloud access and further claimed that only the owner had access to their data. However, security researcher Paul Moore found out that images and videos were uploaded to Eufy's servers leased through AWS. Additionally, these images were tagged with user data. Even after deleting the images and his Eufy account, Moore found that the images remained on Eufy's AWS servers. This led to several sponsored entities, such as YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips, dropping Anker as a sponsor. In December 2022, The Verge reported that Eufy had drastically changed its 'privacy commitment' page, removing many of their previous statements on the privacy aspects of its cameras.
A new privacy policy dated 13 December 2024 was published by Anker Innovations Technology Company Limited [China] that, if not accepted on the Eufy app, stops users accessing or controlling their Eufy security devices. The new policy is wide-ranging and requires users to permit the Chinese parent company to store and process users' personal data, although this is almost certainly unlawful in the UK. However, the Chinese parent company's UK-incorporated subsidiary Anker Technology (UK) Limited still displays a privacy policy dated 27 June 2023 and does not respond to enquiries about the loss of access to the Eufy app.

## Gallery

* Anker PowerPort, a fast USB charger with 5 ports
* Anker Astro, a mobile battery charger introduced in 2011
* An Anker SoundCore interactive speaker display
* Anker PowerConf S500 Speakerphone
* Anker Soundcore Space Q45