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Just found out my smart speaker was listening way more than I thought | Gadget Reviews - HW Forums

Just found out my smart speaker was listening way more than I thought

I was reading a review for a new smart display last week, and the reviewer mentioned they ran a data check on their old model. They found it had sent over 200 audio clips to the company's servers in a single day, even when the wake word wasn't used. I checked my own device's activity log in the app, and sure enough, there were dozens of short recordings marked as 'background noise' or 'unclear command' from times I was just talking in the room. It wasn't just when I said its name. The review said this is common with some brands that use 'ambient listening' to improve their tech. It made me think about all the private stuff it might have picked up. Has anyone else looked at their logs and been surprised by what's in there?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesmason5mo ago

Ugh, that's seriously creepy. I always figured they were listening a bit, but that's way more than I expected. It's one thing to catch the wake word, but just grabbing random background noise feels like a real overstep. Makes you wonder what they're actually doing with all that audio. I guess the mute button is your best friend now.

piper1754mo ago

Wait, @jamesmason, do you really think the mute button fixes everything though? I get where you're coming from, it feels like an overstep for sure when you read those logs. But honestly, I've had my smart speaker for like two years and the convenience is worth it to me. Like, I can set timers while cooking with messy hands, or ask for the weather without grabbing my phone. The way I see it, if you're really worried about privacy, don't have private conversations anywhere near it, same as you wouldn't with your phone sitting on the table. Plus, companies are getting sued and regulated more for this stuff now, so they are cleaning up their act a bit.

jennifer_west5mo ago

Yep, that's why I keep mine in a room where I don't have private talks. You can also mute the microphone with the button when you don't need it. Checking the app's privacy settings is a good step too, some let you turn off voice recording storage. It's a trade-off for the convenience, but those logs are eye-opening for sure.