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I own an Echo and this is part of the reason it now sits unplugged. To be honest, it doesn't provide enough value for me to consider potentially compromising th
by tribune 10y ago
I own an Echo and this is part of the reason it now sits unplugged. To be honest, it doesn't provide enough value for me to consider potentially compromising the privacy of my home.
- danielsamuels 10y agoWithout trying being rude, surely this was obvious before you purchased it?
- josefresco 10y agoAlso, your phone is probably already listening to you - and maybe your cable box.
- diminoten 10y agoHell, most speakers can conceivably be used to record audio.
- YCode 10y agoBruce Schneier wrote a great essay on this topic: https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2008/01/the_psychology_of_se.html https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2008/01/the_psychol... In short, we "feel" security more than we reason about it and once a risk has been personified we lend a lot more weight to it.
- CPLX 10y agoThat is a really interesting link.
- shshhdhs 10y agoMentioned this in another comment, but they can only reveal voice data IF the victim said "Alexa" when the crime was taking place. If the victim didn't say "Alexa" that day, then there's nothing to reveal.
- dade_ 10y agoOr thought it heard Alexa. There were many many times when my devices recognized Hey Siri and Okay Google during regular conversation when no such thing was said. I've disabled that capability on all my devices as well.
- ams6110 10y agoWhat if someone else said "Alexa"? What if someone on TV or the radio said "Alexa"?
- izacus 10y agoAt least in our office it happens quite commonly that Alexa will trigger on phrases that aren't the word "Alexa" and are even unrelated to it.
- 794CD01 10y agoThis definitely has the potential to be the "killer's name written in blood" of the 21st century.
- shostack 10y agoIs there some technical evidence that this is the case? Or is there a chance that these can be configured remotely to record everything with the right permissions without the owner knowing?
- SmellyGeekBoy 10y agoThe main thing I'm taking away from this is that, if I ever find myself getting murdered, I'll just keep shouting "Alexa" as a last ditch attempt at getting justice from beyond the grave. Can't hurt.
- diminoten 10y agoI was thinking about this -- I'm too afraid to try it, but if I said, "Alexa call 911", does that functionality exist? Is there a skill I can install that would let me say something like, "Alexa start recording audio to the cloud"?
- post_break 10y agoThe person consented. Amazon did not hand it over before then.
- Fricken 10y agoIf people are getting murdered in your home and the cops catch wind of it, your privacy will be compromised whether or not you have an Echo.
- njharman 10y agoYour phone can record, video too. Letting fear of privacy boogyman control your life is a sad waste of living.
- CaptSpify 10y agoAnd "lets ignore these problems because they exist elsewhere" is a sad attempt to justify one's lack of concern for a legitimate attack vector.