Yarbo has pledged to remove the intentional backdoor from its robot lawn mower, allowing customers to opt-in for remote diagnostics if they so wish. Co-founder Kenneth Kohlmann states that in future devices, this feature will be default off. However, concerns remain over how thorough the removal process truly is.

Despite promises of improved security, Yarbo initially suggested users might need a persistent backdoor for troubleshooting purposes. Yet by Monday, the company had reversed its stance to an opt-in model, aiming to balance customer control with practical support needs.

The technical implementation involves a setup script that remains dormant until triggered by the user. If this fails, more drastic measures can be taken, though Kohlmann warns it may still take time for full removal, with potential traces left behind in firmware updates.

Yarbo is also enhancing security further by assigning unique root passwords to each device and rolling out new firmware to existing machines. The company remains in contact with the original security researcher, Andreas Makris, as they work towards validating these changes.