OopsIMeanToFartButAPoopCameOut
13439
299
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https://www.cnet.com/home/security/amazon-is-removing-a-key-alexa-privacy-setting-should-you-worry/
Mar 19, 2025 1:06 AM
OopsIMeanToFartButAPoopCameOut
13439
299
3
https://www.cnet.com/home/security/amazon-is-removing-a-key-alexa-privacy-setting-should-you-worry/
CallMeMcGyver
Wait... you mean all the people who argued with me when I said this would eventually happen, were... wrong?... Noooo. Huh?... Well, golly shucks.
WeaponizedJerk
If you cared about your privacy you wouldn't have that fucking spyware in your home in the first place.
4sheets
Throw all that shit in the trash.
copperdomebodhi
Pishposhbingbong
[finishes whisky while eyeing a rock suspiciously]
SVMerlin
I wouldn't worry about it. Just get the hell off Amazon like you should have already.
OregonComputerGuy
I quit using Amazon
HumansArePrettyNeat
We only have prime when they give us a free trial. Most of what I would buy on Amazon these days though is cheaper from the Costco website or ebay.
ilsalta
I always assumed that that was the case. That’s why I won’t touch them.
Luvlyquants
I am not worried. We do not have one. :)
d3jake
I hope none of your friends or family have them, too.
Luvlyquants
What do you mean by friends and family? I do not have them too. :)
PacMan4Life
Unplugged my Google hockey puck when I realized it was analyzing the noises in my home even when I wasn't using it. Like, I get it, it needs to listen for someone to say "hey Google", but if it didn't hear it, I expected the data to be purged. Nope, started coming up in my ads
Someshithead241
Your phone already does that.
Pishposhbingbong
yeah. there's a lot more of this going on. the amount of times this has happened recently to my mum and I. discussing a need for storage boxes in a room with a fire tv and an echo. what turns up in the advertisements? you better believe boxes.
interesting thing.
if you listen hard enough, you can hear a constant high pitched whirring.
that's george orwell spinning in his grave screaming "they bloody paid for their own damn surveilance systems knowing exactly what they were!"
dragonsdemesne
Why would I worry? I don't use this trash.
Comboverman
I can't believe people paid for those intrusive spy devices.
Jace99
Why would anyone own those things? I don’t get it. It doesn’t matter who makes them, they’re just spyware. And yes, I know my phone is too, but why make it that much easier for them?
eppykaze
Simple solution, activate Alexa and then play as much porn as possible to it.
HUGHgReaction
For some, that would be easy
jlist
But my porn is all Japanese, would it be able to understand it?
helterskeltr
does it matter? you fed it “corrupt” data, and you got to watch Japanese porn. It’s a win win!
Bubbells
Maybe, surely people use Alexa in different languages. Though you would confuse the crap out of it. Might be better to use a fictional language like klingon or something else they wouldn't have a translator for.
Bubbells
Sorry, I just reread your comment and realized that require either you to now get hold off some likely odd videos/audio or for you to start translating it yourself.
jlist
I've played a lot with Chat GPT and it does really well in Japanese, I ask it to explain economics concepts to me in Kyoto dialect for the lulz. Grok is not good at languages other than English at all.
Fishkeeper
That's just gonna harass any poor underpaid sap whose job involves going through that footage.
RayneOfSalt
As if there's real people going through all that data.
MacklinBurtMacklinFBI
Good
Fishkeeper
Amazon's assorted expendable underpaid employees are not at fault for this any more than the people who pack stuff in the warehouses are.
CorrectMostOfTheTime
They chose their employer I have no sympathy
Fishkeeper
They chose not being homeless for lack of rent.
dpat13
We were given an Alexa once and it interrupted our conversation. Disconnected it, put it back in the box and gave it away
Drives11
I didn't have one of those for the same reason I don't have the Google assistant enabled on my phone: I don't trust them. Given, trying to minimize Google's spyware on Android is a losing battle, but I do what I can.
RayneOfSalt
Isn't that illegal in the EU and most civilised countries?
CrunchWrapFrappuccinoo
Never found much use for Alexa, or any voice assistant for that matter.
MotionOfTheOcean
I would actually like to use them as a person with ADHD. However, I won't as they are practically spyware
kirby422
What little I use them for, does not need "AI", just understand I asked for a timer, or to turn on a light (which I WISH was done by LAN)
CaptAlbertAlexander
The only voice assistant I use I voice attack for elite dangerous and it's mostly so I can yell at William Shatner
Pishposhbingbong
Now, I have. not for myself (except for laziness) but my mum has limited mobility and is getting on some. being able to control her lights and tv by voice has been a boon. haven't managed to get her used to anything else, but that basic stuff? it's perfect. There's got to be a number of folk out there who recieve a similar benefit from it.
even so, I'm not fond of it, but choke down that for the good it's doing her.
loedout
I use mine everyday for turning on/off lights, setting alarms, and changing the thermostat. I guess it's time to find an alternative.
stabthecrab
Siri set an alarm for 9 am. I don’t even know how to set a phone alarm with it.
That is the extent of my voice commands
ilsalta
My usage of Siri boils down to:
5% - set an alarm for…
5% - set a timer for…
1% - add x to my shopping list
89% - where the f—k is my phone?
Atomic2
I use mine to keep track of my shopping list so I don't forget shit. Say, I'm cooking and I grab the last avocado. "siri, add avocado to shopping list".
FukcTedCruz
The issue is that a lot of products we buy like TVs already have Alexa built in with no option of removing it. So whether you want it or not you choose to have one and accept to these terms one way or another it will have access.
SomeYesMan
Isolated mine behind a Raspberry with Pihole (plus DNS blocker).
Whyyeah
anyway to like jailbreak a tv yet?
SirNameless
You can still buy dumb TVs, but they cost more than the 'smart' TVs now
Varenvel
same thng discord did few years ago , discord bots used to be able to have limited access to chanels and could be blinded or have access to 1 channel , now discord bots see every chat at your discord (including hidden and restricted ones) and have access to all logs (past logs too)
SomeGeek75ygh
Should you worry isn't the question. The real question is: Why the hell did you even buy a spy device in the first place?!
Natastrophe01
If they want to listen to recordings of me wandering around my house farting so that I can yell at it to set timers while I'm cooking, that's a fair trade off.
Becker37
Does it matter? Will anything change? Do we have a choice? Anyone as angry all the fucking time as I am?
CorgisButtsDriveMeNuts
Why people even use all of that crap
DrSchlepenstein
Glad I don't have any of those things in my home.
copperdomebodhi
No need to worry if you ignore shit that fails more often than it succeeds. https://www.techspot.com/news/107101-new-study-finds-ai-search-tools-60-percent.html
HMKwrites
Mine was exclusively an expensive timer until I got my smart watch.
Heelcat70
It's odd how we can mention something in casual conversation and then the next day we start getting ads for the thing we mentioned on our phones and computers. The things came with the house so we just unplug them and the new house owners can worry about it.
KilroyLichking
here is how you run your own local llm powered voice assistant to do it https://youtu.be/XvbVePuP7NY?si=z-OGM9x6alGBuUxy ditch alexa, get some raspberry Pi5's and learn Linux
funkystay
Already done! "Ok Nabu"
Illiasa
^ this ^ ... there are choices for disabled people, too, if they require medical certification -- but training a voice set is pretty easy now
KilroyLichking
ditching all cloud services and self hosting as much as you can is the best advice i can give folks in this day and age. it is not hard or expensive to set up a local storage cluster, local LLM, voice assistant, have your security cameras, doorbell etc store and stream back out to an ip address through local hardware. Heck you can even set up your own mail service, dropbox variant, and vpn pretty easily all on Pi. All these corps rely on collective ignorance to profit and steal our data.
ConsummateConundrum
algoritham
Yeah, I'm not have a corporate wiretap in my house. That's just fucking stupid.
TrumpGarglesHorseSemen
As if your mobile devices don't listen to you already....
ThatGhostyBoi
Me right now.
aoshistark
Yeah I never had one. And I've cut the wires in my smart TV's remote the power it's mic. No bugs in the house!
charondaboatman
BangerFox
I never understood people who use them. is convenience really that important to you that youd give up privacy?
RunawaySpoons
Smart tech can be really useful for disabled people, saving precious energy which they can then use for other less-mundane things, or other mundane things that don't have an assistive tech option.
tryingmybest1
Ok I do use siri to hear texts and talk to type in response when driving. That is actually super useful. That being said she is turned off for everything else including that annoying “hey siri” crap.
DinosaursCameFromSpace
To be honest I don’t care who knows if I’m turning lights on or off
NerdNerdburger
You'll care if they sell that data to a scammer who can deepfake a voice with AI to convince your grandma to send them money
BangerFox
You do realize thats not all its doing right? Its also recording your general conversations, saving them, analyzing them, theyre recording everything your say to market it back towards you. If youve ever wondered why youre talked about a thing you need and suddenly its showing you ads for that thing? Thats why/
kickmyballsrealhard
That doesn't really bother me at all
GrumpySquid
That's great that it doesn't bother you, but, don't you think that should be a choice? So that for the people it does bother they can choose to disable that setting?
Can you see why it'd be crappy of Amazon to force that on everyone rather than it remaining a choice?
epicfail331
There's been plenty of times I just thought of something and started getting ads. Plus having your voice imprint can be used for deepfake audio.
gravyandfries
CSE with 12 years of industry experience. The only recording that hits their servers is the conversation after the wake word. The wake word is also processed locally
SacrificialClam
If you buy a product owned by a company, you shouldn't expect any sorta privacy. Isn't that the kinda world we live in now?
Fishkeeper
So, if I purchase a toothbrush, I should expect the toothbrush company to station a drone outside my window? Most things are "a product owned by a company", and not having drones outside my window is a sorta privacy.
copperdomebodhi
Why TF shouldn't we expect privacy? Who anointed tech companies to have no responsibilities towards their customers? Just because Republicans lick their boots doesn't make it okay for them to do this.
SacrificialClam
Oh I never claimed that its okay. Its most certainly NOT okay. But what are ya gunna do about it? Don't use their services if you don't agree with their policies I guess.
copperdomebodhi
True, and also exactly what I do.