Saying the router is a single failure point is a backwards way of saying, let these "things" talk to the internet in other ways too! If the router is properly

Saying the router is a single failure point is a backwards way of saying, let these "things" talk to the internet in other ways too! If the router is properly configured (i.e. the way the owner wants it), it can be a single point of control - and that's the best case. The real threat, mentioning which would have justified the title, is that people may not be able to opt out of all the "things" reporting to outside parties.