Amazon echo dot
Perhaps this should be in ATC. And to those of you, that already have one, this is old news. But for us. this thing is really great, kind of like the old star treks. Money well spent in my opinion....
Forum Discussion
webslave wrote:
Not a huge stretch at all. The police are, even now, attempting to get Alexa recordings from Amazon in connection with a murder investigation in Arkansas... Alexa hears all and sends the voice data to Amazon servers where it is kept, virtually forever on backups of the server's data. You can "mute" the device, but, then you have to walk over to it to reactivate the microphone...kind of kills any advantage the device has.
It will be a really long time before I invite big brother in to live with us. We all use devices that can have their data hijacked, but, for the most part, you know when it might happen and can behave accordingly. Alexa records everything it hears and sends it to Amazon, nothing "selective" about it. If you just can't live with using the remote to turn your tv on, or, you can't be bothered to look at the weather app on your smartphone, then Alexa may be perfect for you. Just don't put it on the nightstand by your bed :B
there is a HUGE assupmtion from the law enforcement on this murder case. The ASSUMPTION is that ALL data (voice) IS store somewhere. Yes, questions you ask Echo does get stored, you can retrieve that info. But there is no reason to record all conversations it hears. ALL they need to do is store the CONTEXT of requests to build a data base of what has been asked to be able to make efficient use of the device.
And if you are worried about what data is available about you, sign into Social security for secure access to your SS history. You may be very very suprised at the questions you many be asked to verify your identity. things like what bank was your car loan at. Name the vehicle involved in the loan, where a sibling lives.
And the same thing for an account with Fedex or UPS to track packages sent to you. The details they know about you are incredible.
For DW and I, Echo or Google home is worth it for us, but decide what is important to you. Is it for everyone? well, no.
