You're a sucker if you use Alexa (or anything like it)

[N.J.stan]

My smart TV isn't connected to the internet, and i don't use any voice assistant on phone. Fukk all this unnecessary voice command bullshyt.

Though I will admit it was convenient for dumb shyt at an Airbnb I stayed at.

That convenience doesn't outweigh the security risks though. I've seen advertisements for smart light bulbs and faucets that they've got nowadays.
The only things I need connected to the internet are my phone and my computers.

 

[winb83]

Are you not aware of the 'Hey Siri' triggers on iOS and 'Hey Google' on Android? Those functions obviously require the phone to always be listening.



Or so they claim, at least. We don't know that for sure.

Do we ever know anything for sure if you’re going down the conspiracy theory route?

 

[Nobu]

Do we ever know anything for sure if you’re going down the conspiracy theory route?

That's not 'conspiracy theory', it's elementary security theory and common sense not to trust closed source code that hasn't been audited by independent cybersecurity experts.

That doesn't even imply malice on the part of the coders, as your conspiracy theory retort seems to suggest. It could be that they don't even know their code is flawed.

 

[winb83]

That's not 'conspiracy theory', it's elementary security theory and common sense not to trust closed source code that hasn't been audited by independent cybersecurity experts.

That doesn't even imply malice on the part of the coders, as your conspiracy theory retort seems to suggest. It could be that they don't even know their code is flawed.

Your Phone Is Listening and it's Not Paranoia
Modern smartphones do more than Alexa. Your smartphone is always listening to you even if you don’t want it to. The question is what it does with what it collects.

 

[Nobu]

The question is what it does with what it collects.

...yes. Precisely my point. It's a question what it does with what it collects (and when is it actually collecting audio data). You can't say for certain that it 'only connects to the online server when the trigger word is heard' (what you said), and that this behavior is maintained through all the frequent updates.

 

[Geek Nasty]

Are you not aware of the 'Hey Siri' triggers on iOS and 'Hey Google' on Android? Those functions obviously require the phone to always be listening.

You can turn all of these off. I keep ALL prompts like this off on all my devices and appliances. I don't let apps listen for voice prompts; only if I actively request usage.

I made a post a while back though about how after updates, Apple will try to sneakily turn shyt back on or set up vague prompts to trick you into turning things back on after updates. Even iCloud is HARD to keep turned off because every update changes the wording to try to trick you into activating it. Then, as soon as you do it'll start piping all your personal info to iCloud. That's why I don't use any of that shyt, you're just handing your personal info over to Apple or Google. And that's how all those actresses keep getting hacked. Someone guesses their credentials and gets into their cloud accounts.

 

[Colilluminati]

You can turn all of these off. I keep ALL prompts like this off on all my devices and appliances. I don't let apps listen for voice prompts; only if I actively request usage.

I made a post a while back though about how after updates, Apple will try to sneakily turn shyt back on or set up vague prompts to trick you into turning things back on after updates. Even iCloud is HARD to keep turned off because every update changes the wording to try to trick you into activating it. Then, as soon as you do it'll start piping all your personal info to iCloud. That's why I don't use any of that shyt, you're just handing your personal info over to Apple or Google. And that's how all those actresses keep getting hacked. Someone guesses their credentials and gets into their cloud accounts.

I’ve never used iCloud in my life . The last couple months my iCloud has been active no matter how many times I close it . Now I keep getting messages about my storage being full so I should use iCloud . I erased all my message and pictures . It still says it . I don’t even have many apps . I know what they doing and I don’t like it

 

[Geek Nasty]

Your Phone Is Listening and it's Not Paranoia
Modern smartphones do more than Alexa. Your smartphone is always listening to you even if you don’t want it to. The question is what it does with what it collects.

Unfortunately we have a pro-business government who won't even let us legislate against us because they want the freedom to turn around and use our conversations to prosecute us. I don't even have Facebook or Twitter installed on my phones because I've heard all the stories of them stealing your data. I think it's obvious that vendors are doing this, I'd be more disturbed if Apple and Google are secretly enabling your mic to store buzzwords and piping them to central servers.

 

[Geek Nasty]

I’ve never used iCloud in my life . The last couple months my iCloud has been active no matter how many times I close it . Now I keep getting messages about my storage being full so I should use iCloud . I erased all my message and pictures . It still says it . I don’t even have many apps . I know what they doing and I don’t like it

You have to be REAL careful of the prompts after a phone update. They imply you have to log back in, but the fine print says it'll turn on a bunch of iCloud services. Same thing kept happening to me. I've been tracking this for years and I notice that they get sneakier and sneaker about hidng the fact they're turning on iCloud.

 

[Fenian]

I can’t use any of this shyte anyway, can never understand my accent.

Always have locations and shyt turned off, for whatever good it does. These things are probably keeping tabs and recording us 24/7.

 

[fact]

Just had Alexa tell me 4 jokes and the wife and I played a trivia game on the dot in the bedroom

 

[Colilluminati]

You have to be REAL careful of the prompts after a phone update. They imply you have to log back in, but the fine print says it'll turn on a bunch of iCloud services. Same thing kept happening to me. I've been tracking this for years and I notice that they get sneakier and sneaker about hidng the fact they're turning on iCloud.

I’ve had at least 10 updates this year . I’ve never had that on any phone . Everytime I update my autocorrect just guesses all types of shyt . I only post on the coli. Read reddit , news sites and watch porn . I don’t type much at all. I don’t even text many people . Most of the time text turn straight to FaceTime . I can’t imagine why the hell they want my info so bad .

 

[Pressure]

My smart TV isn't connected to the internet, and i don't use any voice assistant on phone. Fukk all this unnecessary voice command bullshyt.

Though I will admit it was convenient for dumb shyt at an Airbnb I stayed at.

That convenience doesn't outweigh the security risks though. I've seen advertisements for smart light bulbs and faucets that they've got nowadays.
The only things I need connected to the internet are my phone and my computers.

Alexa turn off the lights.

 

[fact]

Alexa turn off the lights.

My in laws got the light set up for my birthday, can’t wait to hook that shyt up

 

[Pressure]

My in laws got the light set up for my birthday, can’t wait to hook that shyt up

It's so useful when you've gotten in bed and you've left light on elsewhere in the house. Or when you come in at night.

Ive had echos since the beta and have added smart home devices as well and have never had these issues. Neither have anyone else I've met.

There are issues with the platform but considering how many people use phones and tablets these days this isn't the biggest flaw.