Alexa, Quit Recording Me

Do you have one of the "smart" speakers in your house?  The ones that you can ask questions of, and make your life "easier".  

I don't.  I don't want one.  I don't have one. And although I say, never say never, I have no plans to ever have those in my house.

Perhaps I am paranoid, but I don't like my personal space being invaded.  I am not afraid of computer technology, video phones, and the like, but I want them to only be listening (i.e. recording) or watching (i.e. video recording or transmitting images), when I say it's ok.  That's one of the reasons I WhiteCoat Risk Management has video shutters available for our computer cameras.  No software can bypass a piece of plastic over the lens of the camera.  

Back to Alexa.

Yes, those smart speakers creep me out.  I don't like the idea of being "listened to" all the time.  And these are everywhere.   So you need to be diligent in shutting off those microphones and cameras on every device.  Including Alexa.   (Think I am over-reacting?  Check out this article: Your phone is listening).

Perhaps the easiest way of eliminating the risk of being recorded by a device like Alexa is to simply never have one in your house.  Bingo.  Done.  

In some cases, you can eliminate the risk by never setting up the device on your WiFi.

But if you do have one of these devices, there are ways of taming the beast. 

By searching online, you can find out how to remove recordings from those services.  For example, you can delete your recent voice recordings on a daily basis by saying Alexa, delete everything I have said today.    I am not sure how far back you can go with this (after all I don't have one of these devices), but perhaps you can ask it Alexa how far back do you have recordings of me?  There is no guarantee that this will work, or that it will be honest with you.  

There are some other options for the periodic purging of recordings.  Here is a simple review of how to perform some of these functions:  Eliminate your voice history.   At this web site, there are other privacy suggestions that may be of benefit to you.

In summary:  Protect your privacy.  Assume that ANY device may be recording you.  Assume that EVERY device may be hacked and abused.  

I don't know about you, but I want my home to be my safe space.  No smart speakers.  No web-enabled refrigerators.  No computers, phones or other devices outside of my office.   

WhiteCoat Risk Management provides these articles to help improve general risk awareness in all aspects of your life.  It is not responsible for any actions you take or fail to take regarding any aspect of your financial planning or risk management.  This article is provided for information purposes and is not intended to provide individualized advice. You alone are responsible for your decisions.  

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