The real cost of smart speakers
Alexa's recording you. What’s she doing with it?
Read Sara’s article about the privacy settings on your smart speaker: www.vox.com/recode/2020/12/9/22160427/amazon-alexa-google-assistant-siri-holidays
Correction: At 0:58, we mistakenly suggest that every 1 in 5 American households has a smart speaker. In fact, over one-third of U.S. adults has a smart speaker. We regret the error.
In 2014, Amazon debuted a simple but industry-changing product: the smart speaker. Technically the Amazon Echo was just a microphone attached to the internet that you installed in your home. But it let users ask a digital assistant, Alexa, thousands of questions and commands, and it was a hit. Before long, Google and Apple followed with their own smart speakers, and today, a device that began as a curiosity has become commonplace: one in five US households now owns a smart speaker.
Smart speakers offer convenience; much of their popularity can simply be chalked up to that. But tech companies are also clearly pushing the technology onto consumers hard, sometimes selling smart speakers at rock-bottom prices, and building the “listening” technology that drives them into all sorts of other products, from headphones to doorbells. And a big reason for that is all the data that they produce.
Just like our web searches, online purchases, and social networks, every command you give to a smart speaker is a new piece of data that tech companies own. Most likely, your voice recordings are already being used for improving those companies’ listening algorithms and ad targeting, but there’s very little transparency and no way to know exactly how they use human voice data. All we really know is that these devices have enabled their manufacturers to collect gigantic troves of voice recordings - and that opting out of it isn’t always easy.
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duh
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nope. no use for it.
>It's just a microphone connected to the internet well, yeah.... >It just records my question and sends it off to an Amazon database basically, yes. Like how do you not know this? >Your question stays in their database forever TIL most consumers have no idea how modern technology works
Nowadays information means power
Alexa play tickle tickle
sometimes companies straight up give away these devices for 'free'
it was really helpful...I just turned off ad personalization...wasn't knowing there was something like that.
It's literally just a link to a search engine, just use your phone lol.
Anyone else play this video out loud and activated their google home?
10 dollars in the USA. Mine is equivalent to 50 - 100 dollars. Less than 1% have this smart speaker in my country alone
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Virtual panopticon
This video activated my Nest audio which then gave me tips for what to do in Santa Cruz. (As an aside, I find Google knowing everything about me just makes my ad experiences and Android experience much more convenient and personalized. But that's obviously a trade-off with privacy.)
Googles ad personalization works even though I have it turned off so it doesn’t mean anything
As far as I'm concerned it's win-win. I get to use a useful tool, I get adverts (which I would get anyway) but instead of seeing sports bra's and nail polish I get things that might be relevant to my interests. They get more $'s. There are ways to hide the information you don't want them to know about. Also you're the worst for setting off my Google Home like that.
Great video
This is where I drew a hard line. No smart speakers in our house I don’t even want them on my home network.
A listening device in every room. Tech oligarchy curated “news” content. A very brave new world indeed.
J
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You could have made it better by adding more insights, i didnt received any valuable insights except the options to opt out and delete recordings... but indeed good work!!! keep it up. am fan of Vox since two days.
the alexa hamlinz edit is 4ever undefeated
Hit piece, and like three years too late
first
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I can’t believe 1 in 5 has a smart speaker
Vox is karen
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What? product recommendations are ads, because ads are product recommendations
Thankfully most of this doesn’t apply to Apple
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Ahh the Amazon echo meme AMAZON TECHNO FOR THE WIN
1984
ok, so it's basically a spying device that's also helpful so you pay for the cost yourself. Typical manipulation, genius from the point of view of big tech.
Eh...whatever. As long as I can listen to Katie Perry 24 hours a day I'm happy. 😛 Seriously though, I love ad personalization. I wish they would give us more opportunities to explicitly request what content we want.
This it´s not good....
I wish this was longer.
0:01 my google home mini answered the same question 😭😂
@ShowMeYourFnKey bro same my mom was playing music
i couldnt get her to shut up
Honestly I don't care if someone is judging my playlist or my confusion about a subject
Welcome to utopia!
If Amazon, Apple or Google wants to record me naked jerking off in my room I personally don’t care, because whoever sees it won’t leak it due to the reproductions. I would only care if everyone saw it, then I’d feel embarrassed. I especially don’t care if a computer uses me as a data point. I only care once that data point is used to target me.
Ad targeting makes me uncomfortable because I don’t want to want things.
You should do one about how Google listens to what you say even with you not on the website through your speaker, as one time I was talking about tuna fish since I saw it at the grocery store and Google then recommended an ad for fish to me.
Tbh I don't have much to hide and I don't give a flip about ads. It's better this ways, prices of tech is low.
Anyone else see the fartcopter kid?
I just ordered Alexa and this video pops up in my recommendations.
Don't forget about the FBI inside the speaker.
one in every 5 houses thats a lot
@oiuet souiu do you have one?
Glad I clicked this. 🙏🏽
0:54 is that Demitri from Cobra Kai???
Incredibly informative
the microphone is open 100% of the time. they are constantly listening to what you say. it broadcasts in real-time as long as you have an open internet connection. the data is sent to outsourced companies like the one that i work for and then analyzed for marketing purposes (and not just) also for Home Land Security benefits.
I had a Google home but I got rid of it because I learned that turning off the mic doesn't really stop it from listening. If you turn it off and continue talking to it, it will tell you that the microphone is off. That was enough to make me get rid of it
Every one in five homes....are being surveilled 24 hours a day.
you can just simply not own one so you won't have to worry about it.
Half the time Alexa doesn't understand your question. So big deal.
Me chillin with my Apple HomePod lol
All jokes aside, this is what I love about Vox. I have a smart speaker, and several Amazon products, so this was very helpful just to know in general, with solid information and a source.
Your data. There, thats it
I asked for health advice according to johnny sins, any idea what will happen to me?
I wonder what types of ads people who asked for naughty things get?
Vox: "They don't need money...They need your data" Chinese apps: I thought I was the only one
Anyone else’s smart speaker respond to this vid?
The trading system is a set of certain algorithms trading, instructions, and action of the trader, on the basis of the technical analysis. In each trading system, the conditions for entry/exit time intervals, money management, and risk management are clearly defined. Trading systems allow you to limit the factor of emotional influence on decision-making, as well as to give the trade a certain degree of systemic character. I have been trading forex for 6 months now and never have! regretted going into it, my only regret is not going through the right way as I lost a lot before l was directed to the best trading agent in the market, Expert Mrs Linda Tamara, she grew my account drastically with my initial investment of $4500 to $32000 in a week +1 (602) 661-3144 what's app.....💯💯thank me later
And people put tape over their laptop webcam and feel safe, meanwhile...
The trading system is a set of certain algorithms trading, instructions, and action of the trader, on the basis of the technical analysis. In each trading system, the conditions for entry/exit time intervals, money management, and risk management are clearly defined. Trading systems allow you to limit the factor of emotional influence on decision-making, as well as to give the trade a certain degree of systemic character. I have been trading forex for 6 months now and never have! regretted going into it, my only regret is not going through the right way as I lost a lot before l was directed to the best trading agent in the market, Expert Mrs Linda Tamara, she grew my account drastically with my initial investment of $4500 to $32000 in a week +1 (602) 661-3144 what's app.....💯💯thank me later
Glad I clicked this. 🙏🏽
You include Apple in this video but you never mention anything about how they handle data
That was a waste of 5:43 minutes of my life.
It’s so weird how in America everyone uses Alexa but in every other modern country, everyone uses Google Home.
0:57 Where is that information from?
0:20 came first with Apple Watch*
At 2:03 my Alexa gave me the temp forecast for the day. Thanks Vox.
Me: Please, turn off all Alexa devices in the U.S. Alexa: Sure, but first I have to call Jeff Bezos. I suggest you run.
Until late 2019 Amazon's metadata for every question you asked Alexa stored the physical coordinates of your Alexa device (literally latitude, longitude). There was a report in Bloomberg about it , google it.
why are we turning things orwellian?
Thanks the video than special thanks for activating my smart devices by not censoring the hey siri and ok google catchphrases!
But how do we know if they are really deleting our data?
So... smart speakers are basically Chinese surveillance but commercialize.
@soiung toiue it's possible since apple's advantage to all android phones is its security. In order for them to protect its users, they collect data from them. The data are then used to improved their security. That's the reason why apple devices are updated more frequently than android devices.
Apple is also sailing in the same boat? I doubt
And people put tape over their laptop webcam and feel safe, meanwhile...
Literally everyone knows this.
Am I the only one who finds them completely useless?
You are the product
You really didn't censor out the hotwords?
Russia : its our data
my fbi agent getting replaced by alexa😢
Not sure why Apple was included in this video.
Minuscule amount compared to those other disgraceful companies.
They sell smart speakers, and they also collect user data. They don’t use it for advertising purposes, but they still collect the data.
If your product is free, you're the product.
Is it better for a hostile foreign government to spy on you or a big tech oligopoly to spy on you? You have a choice of how your data is used, but in both cases you are giving up your right to privacy so that a powerful entity can collect on your personal data. The problem today is that the line between hostile governments and big tech gets blurrier by the day.
Sad thing is nobody cares.
We’re sacrificing all of our privacy for a little bit of convenience.
Get lost Vox. What they do with our data is not a mystery. It was very popular a century ago and even had your PIN tattooed on your arm and a yellow badge on your coat, but now, it's on a world wide digital scale. Big Tech is playing useless gods in a sea of siren songs that smart speakers delivers with your monthly payment.
yeah i got a google home for free with my spotify subscription bc i wanted a blue tooth speaker and thought it would work nicely. For some reason my cat HATED it and constantly sought to pick it up by the frabic and chuck it off any surface until it finally broke... maybe he knows something
2000th comment. Peace.
Alexa, immediately delete everything i said until now !!!!
Correct me if I’m wrong but your phone already does this on a way more intense level. It’s not cool, and I don’t think anyone is genuinely into it, but the in-house speaker seems pretty tame compared to the way your phone captures everywhere you go, everyone you call, every website you visit (including where on each page you look at and for how long,) and also listens to everything you say, right from your pocket. It’s not that in-house speakers aren’t a problem it’s that cellphones seem way more intense... But maybe that’s just me.
Apple is also sailing in the same boat? I doubt
So if you google something, it stays... wow
There is a company called Mycroft which produces open source, privacy protecting, smart speakers and assistants
Not me going right to my alexa settings
halfway through this video I had to reconnect my alexa
Jokes on them, I don't have any money I could spend on their products.
Amazon NEXT.