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Ron Obvious

(6,261 posts)
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:14 PM Oct 2021

Amazon's Alexa Collects More of Your Data Than Any Other Smart Assistant

Our smart devices are listening. Whether it's personally identifiable information, location data, voice recordings, or shopping habits, our smart assistants know far more than we realize.

A survey on smart assistant usage conducted by Reviews.org showed that 56% of respondents are concerned over data collection. After analyzing the terms and conditions of Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby, and Cortana, though, it was clear that some degree of data collection is ultimately inescapable.

All five services collect your name, phone number, device location, and IP address; the names and numbers of your contacts; your interaction history; and the apps you use. If you don't like that information being stored, you probably shouldn't use a voice assistant.

https://uk.pcmag.com/smart-home/136455/amazons-alexa-collects-more-of-your-data-than-any-other-smart-assistant


I never did like these things and don't want one in the house. I'm always amazed how utterly minor the benefits of these things are. "Alexa, dim the lights". Is it really that hard to get up and hit a switch, look things up on the computer yourself, turn the heat up, etc?

They're connected to the internet and they're listening 24/7. What could go wrong by having one of these bugs listening in to your life, you wonder?
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Amazon's Alexa Collects More of Your Data Than Any Other Smart Assistant (Original Post) Ron Obvious Oct 2021 OP
Glad I'm not connected. elleng Oct 2021 #1
Same here, Ellen SheltieLover Oct 2021 #5
Got a spam called question everything Oct 2021 #2
I like Alexa ... Hugh_Lebowski Oct 2021 #3
I don't have a smart phone either Ron Obvious Oct 2021 #4
All the physical device is ... is a wi-fi connected speaker and microphone for a smartphone app Hugh_Lebowski Oct 2021 #6
Is your smartphone listening in 24/7? Ron Obvious Oct 2021 #7
Yup, it is, and it came that way ... Hugh_Lebowski Oct 2021 #8
I've got LineageOS instead of stock Android. Ron Obvious Oct 2021 #9
Okay, well I got no issue with people protecting their privacy as they see fit, of course :) Hugh_Lebowski Oct 2021 #10
ours is playing music nearly all day. we are so boring - if anyone wants NewHendoLib Oct 2021 #11
I make sure not to talk about my massive dope distribution network when I'm around her Hugh_Lebowski Oct 2021 #14
+ Invaluable aid after an injury that resulted in a bad concussion including temporary luckone Oct 2021 #15
We use it for playing music verbally check on the weather etc. I'm not paranoid like some people. Nt USALiberal Oct 2021 #12
I don't have any of these gizmos except Siri on my phone. Wingus Dingus Oct 2021 #13
I love mine Zeitghost Oct 2021 #16
What's funny is that decades ago, something like Alexa was dream tech to me Silent3 Oct 2021 #17
The first Alexa ad, I thought was a dark humor scifi short film. eShirl Oct 2021 #18
I always wanted whatever would allow me HAB911 Oct 2021 #19
You probably shouldn't buy one, then. MineralMan Oct 2021 #20

question everything

(47,264 posts)
2. Got a spam called
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:20 PM
Oct 2021

Well, I don't have Alexa at home. But a spam caller earlier started: Hi, this is Alexa. I hung up.


 

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)
3. I like Alexa ...
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:22 PM
Oct 2021

My favorite feature of hers, by far, is her reminder/alarm functions. I can set multiple timers for multiple different things (say, ribs and beans) and she'll tell me 'your ribs are ready', etc.

She reminds me of both garbage/recycling take-out nights, is my morning alarm, and I use her all the time to remind me I have work meetings, stuff like that ... any commitment that's in the future that comes up during the course of the day while I'm at home, I tell her to remind me. She's great at it

And honestly your smart phone tracks even more

 

Ron Obvious

(6,261 posts)
4. I don't have a smart phone either
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:26 PM
Oct 2021

But I'll at least concede they can be useful, unlike these devices.

It probably all dates back to reading 1984 at a very impressionable age. I wonder if that book still seems as terrifying to the generation that grew up with these things.

 

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)
6. All the physical device is ... is a wi-fi connected speaker and microphone for a smartphone app
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:44 PM
Oct 2021

The device is not really a 'separate thing' from your smartphone in any meaningful way.

Once you buy one Alexa device you download the Alexa smartphone app that runs the system, and you can then basically make your phone Alexa if you want and never use the device you bought again. The device has very few 'brains' of it's own. It's almost all a smartphone app.

 

Ron Obvious

(6,261 posts)
7. Is your smartphone listening in 24/7?
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:49 PM
Oct 2021

Mine isn't. I don't install any apps on it or log in on it.

I know perfectly well that that this isn't perfect, but I don't want any digital assistants of any kind whether on a phone or separate device.

 

Ron Obvious

(6,261 posts)
9. I've got LineageOS instead of stock Android.
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 09:54 PM
Oct 2021

I have data turned off and it's not logged in. It's perfectly functional as a phone, multimedia device and text sender/receiver. I have a separate, free standing Garmin device for navigation.

 

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)
10. Okay, well I got no issue with people protecting their privacy as they see fit, of course :)
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 10:10 PM
Oct 2021

But for average smartphone customer who doesn't take special steps for that purpose, having an 'assistant' of this type is really not any more privacy-breaking than having a 'stock' smartphone is in general. Though they are equipped w/a more powerful microphone than a phone is, I'll give ya that.

NewHendoLib

(59,940 posts)
11. ours is playing music nearly all day. we are so boring - if anyone wants
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 10:52 PM
Oct 2021

to listen they will be quickly sleeping.

LOVE our (four) Echos!

 

Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)
14. I make sure not to talk about my massive dope distribution network when I'm around her
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 11:48 PM
Oct 2021

but it's not that hard to remember

luckone

(21,646 posts)
15. + Invaluable aid after an injury that resulted in a bad concussion including temporary
Sat Oct 23, 2021, 01:13 AM
Oct 2021

short term loss issues for all the reasons you said
Plus while I was bed ridden recuperating I could listen to podcasts music etc touch free
Injured , I wasn’t able to fiddle with my phone or anything
Yes my morning alarm

Wingus Dingus

(8,049 posts)
13. I don't have any of these gizmos except Siri on my phone.
Fri Oct 22, 2021, 11:13 PM
Oct 2021

I haven't found the need for all of the smart devices that so many other people seem to require. I have a dumb thermostat, dumb light bulbs, dumb garage door opener. My range/oven is smart-capable, but why would I even bother to set that up? I can preheat or shut off the oven myself.

Zeitghost

(3,796 posts)
16. I love mine
Sat Oct 23, 2021, 02:29 AM
Oct 2021

We have a network of them around the house, most of which are attached to Bose Wave radios. We use it as an intercom system, a whole house music system, alarms and timers, listening to podcasts, checking the weather for the day as well as controlling lights and other tasks. I have a morning routine setup that turns on the lights, increases the volume and starts NPR news when I tell it "Goodmorning". I have another that turns off lights, turns the volume down and starts a white noise app on a timer when I tell it "Goodnight".


What could go wrong you ask? I have no idea. I'm a pretty boring, law abiding normal guy with a pretty normal wife and kids. Listening in on my household wouldn't be too exciting for anyone. Maybe if I was involved in criminal activity, or radical political activism or something else controversial I would bother to protect my privacy a little more, but I've found that blending in and living a drama free life tends to make one a low priority target for any kind of surveillance.

Anyone concerned with an Alexa or other smart device that is using the internet and/or a smartphone without heavy encryption and using VPN's are not being very consistent in their logic.

Silent3

(15,018 posts)
17. What's funny is that decades ago, something like Alexa was dream tech to me
Sat Oct 23, 2021, 02:55 AM
Oct 2021

I thought it would be so cool to walk into a room and say, "Computer, lights!" (I always imagined saying "Computer", and not something like "Alexa" or "Siri" ) and have the lights go on.

Now that the technology is actually here? It's a big "meh" to me.

Pretty much the only thing I use voice recognition for is making calls or answering texts by voice when driving. That works fairly well most of the time, but it makes stupid mistakes too. I recently tried to respond to a friend's message by saying, "Ah hah!". Siri insisted on turning that into "ha ha" instead, which would have made no sense as my reply. Not only made no sense, but "ha ha" would have sounded sarcastic and derisive in this particular context -- not my intent at all.

I tried about three times (without sending, only previewing, the message) and then gave up and reworded my reply. Later, while not driving, I tried to get Siri to understand "Ah hah!", but even in a quiet environment with no road noise, no matter what timing, intonation, or syllabic accent placement I tried, "ha ha" was all Siri would get out of such a simple and common interjection as "ah hah!".

I have privacy concerns too. I might be more willing to use something like Alexa if it worked using completely built-in AI, rather than shipping my voice off to a remote server for parsing.

eShirl

(18,466 posts)
18. The first Alexa ad, I thought was a dark humor scifi short film.
Sat Oct 23, 2021, 05:55 AM
Oct 2021

was astounded to find out it was for real

HAB911

(8,811 posts)
19. I always wanted whatever would allow me
Sat Oct 23, 2021, 08:33 AM
Oct 2021

to be like Star Trek and say, Computer,.................."

Still would love it now but it would have to be under my control, not Bezos'

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
20. You probably shouldn't buy one, then.
Sat Oct 23, 2021, 09:54 AM
Oct 2021

Isn't that simple?

We have an Echo in our living room. Since it is always waiting for someone to say, "Alexa," it is always listening. It has to, or it would never hear you. We use it for notifications that an Amazon delivery has arrived. I use it as a cooking timer. We ask about the weather sometimes. Occasionally, we ask it to play some music. It can also turn on our TV and change the volume.

We don't have any other home automation stuff, though, so we're using only a tiny fraction of its capabilities.

Am I concerned that it is listening to me? No, I'm not. I'm very boring. Besides, I know just how much computing power it would take to process the voice data from millions of Alexa devices, convert them into voice recognition language and deal with understanding what is being said. That is simply not happening. It's actually impossible, given the current state of technology.

If I were physically handicapped, though, my home would be full of Alexa enabled devices. That would be a wonderful help.

But, you definitely shouldn't buy any Alexa devices. That will allay your concerns and let you focus on something else that is more useful

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