If you don’t want Alexa to record private conversations in your home then you shouldn’t have one.
That’s the verdict from cyber-experts who say the only way to truly keep your audio out of Amazon’s hands is by ridding your home of Alexa.
Amazon Echo speakers are an amazing gadget that can make your home life easier and more interesting.
But the price you pay is privacy: Amazon stores your Alexa recordings, and sometimes sends those voice clips off to humans.
This creates a privacy nightmare, as these conversations can be private – mistakenly picked up by Alexa.
“If you don’t want to be recorded, don’t buy one – it’s as simple as that,” said cyber-expert Keith Geragthy, of edgescan, speaking to The Sun.
“We don’t realise how often we discuss sensitive information out loud.
“Remember that it is likely multiple devices in a modern home environment that are recording, not just your Alexa speaker.”
Earlier this week, an ex-Amazon exec admitted that workers do listen to your conversations through Alexa.
And he said he turns his Alexa speaker off when he wants to have a “private moment”.
You can turn this “human grading” off in your settings, and even delete your recordings – but the audio is still saved in the first instance.
Sadly, the only way to stop that is to bin Alexa completely.
“While it may seem like Alexa or Google Home is in your house, all of the data you share with that device is transmitted to the cloud, and specifically to Amazon or Google,” Paul Norris, a cyber-expert at Tripwire, told The Sun.
“The easiest way to avoid these risks is simply not to buy the devices.”
Read more: How To Stop Amazon Alexa From Recording You At Home? Toss It!
