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People who use these "microphones" are idiots. They are right on up there with the people that give away their DNA to web companies.

mikeash 8y ago
I’m one of those “idiots.” Can you explain how it’s any worse than carrying a cell phone?
- fouric 8y ago
  Android has per-app microphone permissions that you can disable, if you want. At least in theory, Google apps honor these permissions, and on LineageOS, you can verify that this is the case - while with the Alexa, not only is there no way to audit any of the code running on the device, but it's explicitly marketed as being always listening.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    The baseband is a black box and has direct access to the microphone.
    - fouric 8y ago
      Oh, this is true - although the likelihood and ease of it being exploited as a listening device are much lower than that of a device explicitly designed to do so. Edit: Not to mention that the entire Alexa is a black box, too. Second Edit: Not trying to claim that you're an idiot, just provide some perspective.
      - mikeash 8y ago
        I suspect that the capability is already there, to be turned on at the request of law enforcement.
ryanwaggoner 8y ago
Or maybe they just value different things than you do? I have an Echo on my kitchen counter. I know there's a small chance that it may be hacked or have a bug or be deliberately modified to surreptitiously record from my kitchen audio that ends up on some Amazon server somewhere, or in the hands of law enforcement, or the NSA, or hackers, or whatever. I just don't really care. I like the convenience of the device, there's a lot of scrutiny on the devices and the companies that make them, discouraging deliberate misuse, and I don't really say anything interesting or worth hiding. And if someone is going to deliberately target me, my life is jammed with devices that are probably a much bigger risk surface area. I would never say anyone else should get one if they feel the privacy risks outweigh the benefits, but I'm not personally concerned. However, I may be wrong. So change my view: why should I care or be worried?

mikeash 8y ago

I’m one of those “idiots.” Can you explain how it’s any worse than carrying a cell phone?

fouric 8y ago
Android has per-app microphone permissions that you can disable, if you want. At least in theory, Google apps honor these permissions, and on LineageOS, you can verify that this is the case - while with the Alexa, not only is there no way to audit any of the code running on the device, but it's explicitly marketed as being always listening.
- mikeash 8y ago
  The baseband is a black box and has direct access to the microphone.
  - fouric 8y ago
    Oh, this is true - although the likelihood and ease of it being exploited as a listening device are much lower than that of a device explicitly designed to do so. Edit: Not to mention that the entire Alexa is a black box, too. Second Edit: Not trying to claim that you're an idiot, just provide some perspective.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      I suspect that the capability is already there, to be turned on at the request of law enforcement.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago

Or maybe they just value different things than you do? I have an Echo on my kitchen counter. I know there's a small chance that it may be hacked or have a bug or be deliberately modified to surreptitiously record from my kitchen audio that ends up on some Amazon server somewhere, or in the hands of law enforcement, or the NSA, or hackers, or whatever. I just don't really care. I like the convenience of the device, there's a lot of scrutiny on the devices and the companies that make them, discouraging deliberate misuse, and I don't really say anything interesting or worth hiding. And if someone is going to deliberately target me, my life is jammed with devices that are probably a much bigger risk surface area. I would never say anyone else should get one if they feel the privacy risks outweigh the benefits, but I'm not personally concerned. However, I may be wrong. So change my view: why should I care or be worried?