Google Home Smart speaker recordings leaked

[Zak33]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48963235


and I quote

Belgian broadcaster VRT exposed the recordings made by Google Home devices in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The search giant said the recordings came from one of the human reviewers who helps to refine Home's linguistic abilities.

It said it took steps to protect the privacy of people whose recordings its reviewers sampled.
Critical review

VRT said the majority of the recordings it reviewed were short clips logged by the Google Home devices as owners used them.

However, it said, 153 were "conversations that should never have been recorded" because the wake phrase of "OK Google" was not given.

These unintentionally recorded exchanges included:

blazing rows
bedroom chatter
parents talking to their children
phone calls exposing confidential information

It said it believed the devices logged these conversations because users said a word or phrase that sounded similar to "OK Google" that triggered the device.

honstly people.. ..this is not unexpected.. you cant trust a system like that to be confidential. You just cant

[cheesemp]

Yeah. To be honest it you want privacy don't get one... They need recording to improve the quality so they will take them and review them. To be honest though if privacy really bothers you don't get a smart phone and use Linux on your PC with ad and tracker blockers. Its the only way.

Personally I've got an Echo dot but to be honest Amazon already know enough about my shopping preferences anyway!

[Zak33]

Personally I've got an Echo dot but to be honest Amazon already know enough about my shopping preferences anyway!

thats fine... but what if it records your voice as you are telling someone something confidential in your own home?

[Galant]

Well that didn't take long...

But yet, those devices are "always on", and there are people paid to review samples of what is recorded in order to improve the AI/function.

Here's an earlier piece on Alexa:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-reviews-audio

[Saracen999]

Hah.

So I csn ditch the tinfoil hat some on here presented me with.

I know people hate a smartar .... erm, smartalec that says "Told you so" but ......
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.
.
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no, I won't. I'd hate to waste all the money I paid that therapist.

[Saracen999]

thats fine... but what if it records your voice as you are telling someone something confidential in your own home?

As cheesemp said, if you value your privacy, don't get one.

IMHO, it's a trade-off. Risk versus convenience.

For me, risk avoidance outweighs convenience and, as per cheese's advice, I won't get one. Some fruends disagree, and have several.

But these recordings shouldn't surprise, let alone shock, anyone.

[peterb]

I had an Ech dot, but once the novelty had worn off, I reAlly didn’t use it. It was unplugged a couple of months ago and I haven’t missed at all.

[Zak33]

chuck them all in the bin and don't buy any more.

period.

[Saracen999]

/poop-stirring mode on

Hands up all those worried about privacy and Alexa .... while proudly carrying a smartphone?





/poop-stirring mode off

[0xFFFFail]

Happens constantly on the home minis for me, phone doesn't usually misfire but presumably someone didn't train their voice properly or the mics are awful

[ddr4000]

Get an Amazon dot for only £22!