We really are being spied on!!!

[MoKelly]

This has been debunked. A packet sniffer placed on your network can tell if a device is communicating when it's not supposed to. Unless you say its wake word, Echo devices do not send data to Amazon and what it sends is the a few seconds worth of sound from before the wake up word and until you've finished talking to it.

Good. Alexa is so nice. The first thing I ask her in the morning - she answers then says “Have a great day John”.

That can’t be a spy!

MoKelly

 

[Steppenwolfe]

We'd probably be very surprised with how much data is collected about us and how readily it's shared and sold.

You have no idea... our DIL works for a company that data mines everything you do and then sells that data to advertisers. Creeps me out just knowing that is what she does.

 

[MoKelly]

You have no idea... our DIL works for a company that data mines everything you do and then sells that data to advertisers. Creeps me out just knowing that is what she does.

I need a burner phone!

MoKelly

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I need a burner phone!

MoKelly

It is insidious the amount of info we bread crumb behind us in our daily lives... she can tell you horror stories.

 

[/pine]

This has been debunked. A packet sniffer placed on your network can tell if a device is communicating when it's not supposed to. Unless you say its wake word, Echo devices do not send data to Amazon and what it sends is the a few seconds worth of sound from before the wake up word and until you've finished talking to it.

That's pretty funny....exactly who did you say debunked it?...LoL...!

 

[MossRoad]

This has been debunked. A packet sniffer placed on your network can tell if a device is communicating when it's not supposed to. Unless you say its wake word, Echo devices do not send data to Amazon and what it sends is the a few seconds worth of sound from before the wake up word and until you've finished talking to it.

We know people that have Alexa, and have been in rooms with Alexa, when no one says "Alexa?" and she comes on and starts talking.

 

[ericm979]

We know people that have Alexa, and have been in rooms with Alexa, when no one says "Alexa?" and she comes on and starts talking.

I've had that happen. My wife was working on that project before it was released. For a while she had one in her home office. It would hear me talking to the cat and would start yelling about updates or something. After the second time I unplugged it and asked her to turn it off except when she was using it. By the time she was done with that project she was sick of it and it disappeared from the house.

It's not supposed to trigger except on the alert word but voice recognition is not anywhere close to 100% accurate.

As of a few years ago you could look in your amazon account and see (and hear) what it's recorded, and delete the recordings. Of course one question is are they really deleted everywhere?

 

[the old grind]

I need a burner phone!

I have a cel and a 'landline' (now cellular too). Combined cost is ~$65/mo w/tax, $1 SIM cards sent for every new or added device with both 'Net 10', and 'Community Phone'. Good service and never a complaint from either carrier.

The cel # is private and the other has been my 'number of record' since '89. It's 'listed' and the only one I give out.

 

[MoKelly]

We know people that have Alexa, and have been in rooms with Alexa, when no one says "Alexa?" and she comes on and starts talking.

Yes. That does happen.

Seems pretty short sighted if Amazon is selling devices that spy. Nothing is secret forever.

MoKelly

 

[SylvainG]

That's pretty funny....exactly who did you say debunked it?...LoL...!

Can easily be found on the Internet. Plus, don't you think it would have made some head news if someone had discovered that Alexa listens to conversations and sends them to Amazon without hearing its wake word first?

We know people that have Alexa, and have been in rooms with Alexa, when no one says "Alexa?" and she comes on and starts talking.

Those microphones are very sensitive. I could be in the kitchen and when I say Alexa, the one in the living room starts listening too. Look in the account history, it will tell you what it heard. The other day, the whole basement lights and fans turned on. We were in the dining room talking. The Echo Plus in the living room picked up its wake word and thought we said to turn on the basement (which includes lights and bathroom exhaust fan). We were talking about the basement at that time. It's not infallible but it's not 'spying on you'. The device simply waits locally to hear its wake word.

BTW, I've seen so many coworkers phone come alive because it thought it heard 'OK Google' lol.