We’re they on their honeymoon?
Divorce.
I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.
Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.
And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.
The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead.
It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you!
This seems like the better solution especially since apps can utilize these same voice assistants.
I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.
Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.
And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.
The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead.
It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you!
It's a shame you can't remove the battery...I work for a Government Agency that makes me a likely target, so my concerns are a bit different. Anything connected can be used for nefarious ends by a dedicated hacker. I don't have cameras or microphones on any computer in my house. I avoid any IoT technology on items I buy and mitigate any that I can't avoid.
Privacy is certainly a concern. The device listens 24/7. Whether it sends everything it "hears" over the internet is irrelevant. The fact that it doesn't send everything doesn't negate the fact that it could. A phone can be hacked, so can these.
And yes, I carry an iPhone. Mine has had the internal microphone physically disconnected, to use the phone as a phone, I use a headset. I avoid public WiFi. I have a persistent VPN active. The only thing that someone with the right skills could do is activate the camera on the phone and watch whatever can be seen from my waistband. Bluetooth is disabled as well.
The "Internet of Things" is ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. I do what I can to avoid making it too easy to hack me, so they'll give up and hack y'all instead.
It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you!
Only if you don't value your privacy.
I don't have much of an opinion either way, ubiquitous computing is here to stay, but I'm not sure that using a mobile device or laptop to check work emails or news is quite the same as having the "always on" microphone listening to each and every word and noise me and my family make.
That's why I won't have a phone that doesn't have a removable battery.
