Alexa creeping people out?

[Ryme]

Never, nothing but occasionally useful for me.

[VanishingAct]

Imagine voluntarily buying a device that's there to spy on you. Is it being naive? Lack of caring? Misplaced trust? Stupidity?

[fakaroonie]

Exactly. People think it laughing or whatever is creepy. Boy, you people... it's listening to you and if you think Amazon is actually deleting everything it records...

*insert Alexa laughter here*

Actually, everything is deleted.

[XDurionX]

Actually, everything is deleted.

Except it's not. Everything you say, every sound you make is recorded, sent to their servers and processed there. This is necessary to ensure Alexa's function. You don't have to press a button to voice a request, do you? And this is proof that at least some of the recordings are kept. Confirmed by Amazon.

https://www.cnet.com/news/whoops-ama...someone-elses/

[Wezmon]

Except it's not.

https://www.cnet.com/news/whoops-ama...someone-elses/

That's just the recordings that you have actively put into the alexa system, (by saying "hello alexa"). They are kept as you can go into your history and re hear them. There's no evidence they are constantly recording everything being said (I assume it probably not even possible, the storage required would be insane).

To be honest they can record me, christ they'd have a boring job listening to that

As for the OP a lot of these things are faked now as you can set up a routine which means alexa can respond weirdly, laugh on timer or smart device activation etc.

[XDurionX]

That's just the recordings that you have actively put into the alexa system, (by saying "hello alexa"). They are kept as you can go into your history and re hear them. There's no evidence they are constantly recording everything being said (I assume it probably not even possible, the storage required would be insane).

To be honest they can record me, christ they'd have a boring job listening to that

As for the OP a lot of these things are faked now as you can set up a routine which means alexa can respond weirdly, laugh on timer or smart device activation etc.

EVERY SOUND you make is recorded and processed. This is a NECESSITY to even know that Alexa is addressed without further user interaction, you have to know when the user says "hello alexa" or the likes. Yes, keeping all the recordings would require massive storage, but let's not think that it would be impossible. It's more probable that only some recordings are kept. But some != none.

Alexa is a MASSIVE intrusion into your privacy, and things can and will go wrong, as we've just witnessed. We cannot know whether it was really "human error", but it happened at least once, it can happen again. And that was without any criminal intent, don't want to know what people who truly want to extort someone will be capable of.

There's a wide array of reasons why you shouldn't trust amazon and alexa in the slightest.

[Ryme]

The only stored recordings are 'accepted' requests and you can view them yourself whenever you want, the always listening part isn't sent to Amazon, this is easily verifiable both from a logistical standpoint, power consumption measuring and measuring the bandwidth changes to your router.

[Daedius]

EVERY SOUND you make is recorded and processed. This is a NECESSITY to even know that Alexa is addressed without further user interaction, you have to know when the user says "hello alexa" or the likes. Yes, keeping all the recordings would require massive storage, but let's not think that it would be impossible. It's more probable that only some recordings are kept. But some != none.

Alexa is a MASSIVE intrusion into your privacy, and things can and will go wrong, as we've just witnessed. We cannot know whether it was really "human error", but it happened at least once, it can happen again. And that was without any criminal intent, don't want to know what people who truly want to extort someone will be capable of.

There's a wide array of reasons why you shouldn't trust amazon and alexa in the slightest.

I'll make sure to not have an Alexa device in the room before my team starts discussing about our next heist.

[fakaroonie]

EVERY SOUND you make is recorded and processed. This is a NECESSITY to even know that Alexa is addressed without further user interaction, you have to know when the user says "hello alexa" or the likes. Yes, keeping all the recordings would require massive storage, but let's not think that it would be impossible. It's more probable that only some recordings are kept. But some != none.

Alexa is a MASSIVE intrusion into your privacy, and things can and will go wrong, as we've just witnessed. We cannot know whether it was really "human error", but it happened at least once, it can happen again. And that was without any criminal intent, don't want to know what people who truly want to extort someone will be capable of.

There's a wide array of reasons why you shouldn't trust amazon and alexa in the slightest.

Wow.

The conspiracy. My privacy. Black Mirror. End times.

I actually work on the project and they're really, really serious about personal data, and all recordings are deleted. If you want to get into a physics discussion where information can never be destroyed then probably.

But please, consider the phones, and how we're constantly surrounded around them, even on the streets. And consider how easy it is even for the normal police to listen to your phone, and how hard would be for them to get a permission from a private company to listen to it.

People that fear this stuff though, have a self-centered complex and believe that anyone actually gives a shit about what they do or say.

Just.. live freely, and if you fear this shit, don't get it..

[XDurionX]

Wow.

The conspiracy. My privacy. Black Mirror. End times.

I actually work on the project and they're really, really serious about personal data, and all recordings are deleted. If you want to get into a physics discussion where information can never be destroyed then probably.

But please, consider the phones, and how we're constantly surrounded around them, even on the streets. And consider how easy it is even for the normal police to listen to your phone, and how hard would be for them to get a permission from a private company to listen to it.

People that fear this stuff though, have a self-centered complex and believe that anyone actually gives a shit about what they do or say.

Just.. live freely, and if you fear this shit, don't get it..

It's not a conspiracy, we have proof and it is confirmed by amazon. But keep living in denial.

So you work on "the project"....whoah. I don't doubt they're serious about personal data because THE FUCKING LAW FORCES THEM TO, but as we've seen, mistakes can and will happen. Not even talking about malicious intent. I won't touch an alexa with a ten foot pole.

[Wezmon]

EVERY SOUND you make is recorded and processed. This is a NECESSITY to even know that Alexa is addressed without further user interaction, you have to know when the user says "hello alexa" or the likes. Yes, keeping all the recordings would require massive storage, but let's not think that it would be impossible. It's more probable that only some recordings are kept. But some != none.

That processing is done locally. You can easily see this as if your wifi is down the device will still respond to a wake up call. It's only after a wake up call it starts recording. None of that is sent anywhere, and this is easily verified by seeing how much bandwidth the device is using at any given time.

- - - Updated - - -

It's not a conspiracy, we have proof and it is confirmed by amazon. But keep living in denial.

.

What proof? The article you linked? As we have said that was a list of the accepted recordings the user had entered after using the wake up call. It became a story because amazon sent the wrong list. There have also been times when it recorded after hearing a misinterpreted wake up call which is clearly an error and something they need to sort.

[XDurionX]

What proof? The article you linked? As we have said that was a list of the accepted recordings the user had entered after using the wake up call. It became a story because amazon sent the wrong list. There have also been times when it recorded after hearing a misinterpreted wake up call which is clearly an error and something they need to sort.

Yes, and i've read the original source, which i can't link because it's german only. Plus it's a little more than just "misinterpreted wake up calls", "Still, the accidentally shared audio files reportedly included potentially sensitive information from the stranger, including at-home conversations with a female companion." It isn't just the "accepted recordings" as much as you want it to be.

If that's not enough to shun it, i don't know what is.

[Wezmon]

Yes, and i've read the original source, which i can't link because it's german only. Plus it's a little more than just "misinterpreted wake up calls", "Still, the accidentally shared audio files reportedly included potentially sensitive information from the stranger, including at-home conversations with a female companion." It isn't just the "accepted recordings" as much as you want it to be.

If that's not enough to shun it, i don't know what is.

But again this was a data mishandling error as they gave the sensitive info that the user agreed to record to the wrong person. Yes a serious balls up, but in the same way companies (including twitch who now jointly own this forum?) hit the news everyday for giving out sensitive info/ passwords, even bank details, that just happen to not be voice recordings.


I guess the other way to look at it is.. do you own any modern iphone or android? Both of these now have wake up alerts (hey siri, ok google) and there's no proof that google or apple aren't taping even when these are deactivated (unless apple and google are for some reason more trustworthy than amazon?). If not fair enough, but you will find it harder and harder to avoid this tech in the next few years.

[HeHe]

Bugging your own house is the creepiest thing about these things. No need for anything more. Fuck this trend in particular.

I got this:

Open your Google map, go to 3 lines > Your timeline , select a date to see your mobile GPS history tracking

[HeHe]

Hence me also not using my phone for anything but actual phoning and, much to my disliking, whatsapp - but what can you do if all your friends use it too :/ My GPS is constantly turned off, and I've also not given any app permission to access google's position services. Call me paranoid, but since I work in the industry, I kinda have some understanding of what could be done if just so much as wanted.

All those user's data collection from giant tech companies is like a trap for the company's 20% profit every year.

[Jeezy911]

Do you have a phone nearby with the power on? So you basically are being listened to at all times.

[Strawberry]

There was that incident of Alexa randomly laughing even when nobody has said anything or at inappropriate times. I'd say that's pretty creepy.

Well, you just creeped me out.
I have Alexa in every room and I live alone. If she suddenly started laughing while the lights are off and I'm in my bed... well, I would sue Amazon for mental damage.

But then again, my old bedroom light (not Alexa controlled) would suddenly turn on while I was sleeping and start rotating colors like crazy.
I would wake up and be like "wtf is going on?". Turn it off and go to sleep.
I've ditched that light. It was creepy.

[RobertoCarlos]

Well, you just creeped me out.
I have Alexa in every room and I live alone. If she suddenly started laughing while the lights are off and I'm in my bed... well, I would sue Amazon for mental damage.

But then again, my old bedroom light (not Alexa controlled) would suddenly turn on while I was sleeping and start rotating colors like crazy.
I would wake up and be like "wtf is going on?". Turn it off and go to sleep.
I've ditched that light. It was creepy.

Thankfully you did! That Light was only days away from taking your life.

The red lady was trying to break through interdimensional walls to wear your body as a meat suit which would have fried your brain from the strain

[Thekri]

Wow.

The conspiracy. My privacy. Black Mirror. End times.

I actually work on the project and they're really, really serious about personal data, and all recordings are deleted. If you want to get into a physics discussion where information can never be destroyed then probably.

But please, consider the phones, and how we're constantly surrounded around them, even on the streets. And consider how easy it is even for the normal police to listen to your phone, and how hard would be for them to get a permission from a private company to listen to it.

People that fear this stuff though, have a self-centered complex and believe that anyone actually gives a shit about what they do or say.

Just.. live freely, and if you fear this shit, don't get it..

Sort of. So I assume most of the passive recording is stored on short term memory and is constantly being written over. But everything has to be recorded at least temporarily so she knows when she is being spoken too. Now the conspiracy/paranoia/very real concern comes in because you don't actually have any control over what gets saved, even if you think you do. It would be incredibly easy to insert other keywords to trigger a permanent recording that is available to Amazon, and not you. Now did they do this? They say they didn't, and I am not aware of any evidence that contradicts that. It would definitely be a serious risk for them if it was ever discovered, but we have seen a multitude of companies do things about as similar, so it wouldn't be unprecedented. Big Data is good money, and being able to gauge peoples reactions to products and issues accurately is very valuable information.

So even if Amazon isn't doing it, I don't want one in my house. Because if there is money to be made, somebody is going to do it.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Not really, I don't own any of these devices, I have my Iphone it seem kind of redundant. I have seen the stupid YouTube Nonsense, and I can honestly say no, it doesn't creep me out, it just disturbs me that there are that many people this critically stupid, asking their Home device shit like do you work for the ,NSA, CIA.