No grocery stores are mining my preferences. I take their little plastic card, never attach any name to it or "register" it, and it still gets scanned for the discount at the checkout. Easy peasy.

I am fully bought into the Amazon ecosystem, eschewing all of the Google devices I previously had. I find the Amazon gadgets work better, last longer, and can keep up with technology changes better than the Google devices. I bought an Echo when they first came out and sold it when the Echo Dots came around, that way I was able connect them to my Sonos speakers. Combined with the new Amazon Prime Music service, I was able to get rid of Pandora and Spotify and save myself some money in the process. The Echo has a ton of built in integration with other devices in my home, and when you add in Skills and IFTTT there is basically nothing it can't do. I also have an Echo Tap that I really like, among the other Fire TVs and Kindle Fire tablets.

If you are worried about being listened to or spied on, hopefully you don't have a Vizio or Samsung smart TV in your home. Also, don't use gmail and do your Internet browsing in incognito mode. You also can't buy anything online, or have a mail carrier or UPS driver that know where you buy things from (even from the Sears paper catalog). You also better not be using a credit card or debit card, might as well just do your bartering down by the river where you can trade your hardtack for some gun powder and wagon wheels

If you want to know what the Internet and advertisers know about you, go here and take a look: https://aboutthedata.com/

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
No grocery stores are mining my preferences. I take their little plastic card, never attach any name to it or "register" it, and it still gets scanned for the discount at the checkout. Easy peasy.

You only pay in cash?

Telling Alexa to play Norah Jones, and then tell Alexa to turn off in 30 minutes is a great way to go to sleep at night. I use TP-Link outlets to control a lamp, a reading light and a fan with Alexa. It is really neat technology that will be integrated in more devices. At first I was concerned about how much data Amazon was gathering, but the vast amount of data already available quieted that fear. Between the cell phone, text messages, GPS in the car, online credit card usage and the internet activity tied to my IP address, the NSA already has access to pretty much all the boring information about me they would ever want. I just hope they don't reveal my mothers secret recipe for BBQ sauce.

quote:

Originally posted by SigP239Hokie:

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
No grocery stores are mining my preferences. I take their little plastic card, never attach any name to it or "register" it, and it still gets scanned for the discount at the checkout. Easy peasy.

You only pay in cash?

Actually I do. I withdraw my weekly budget in cash every friday. This is used for groceries and "incidentals" i.e. lunch at Taco Bell or whatever. Also for anything I might need around the house, HVAC filters, whatever during the week. I am not one of those people that swipes their card for a pack of gum. All resturants and bars are also cash; I hate tipping on a card. I still send checks for rent and utilities. I use cards for gas and internet purchases. I like having cash in my pocket day to day and knowing what I have left. Makes life simple when you can reach into your pocket and see where you stand. No internet connection required.

I admit I did link a card to Apple Pay; use it at the vending machines at work. I think its cool; buying a can of soda with a fingerprint, now that's some Buck Rodgers shit

quote:

Originally posted by Doc H.:
Neither of these devices "listen" to anything you say unless you activate them with a voice command, ...

Now I want you to think carefully about what you just wrote, there...

quote:

Originally posted by Doc H.:
Life is risky. Choose wisely.

It can be. Sometimes I choose wisely, sometimes I do not. So far I've been lucky. This is one particular die I choose not to roll.

I was being funny about privacy concerns, but the point was more seriously described by others. Secure your internet access in the first place. There is more sensitive data in other devices and servers than this voice-activated thing will have - bank accounts, etc. I am not a very attractive target - I can understand that people try to hack Mark Zuckerburg or Jennifer Lawrence. And even if I tell my wife she has a hot ass, and someone hears it, so what?

I like aspects of the idea and will continue to monitor such options, but I don't want or need much of what it does and would prefer it operate locally using my own resources and media rather than jumping out to the internet every time. In a year or three we'll see...

The Echo and similar devices listen to a 30 second rolling clip of ambient noise. The purpose is so that you can say, "Alex, what's the temperature in Paris, France?" in one natural phrase, rather than saying "Alexa....(pause for the machine to begin listening)...wake me up in 30 minutes."

That's the disclosure that Amazon makes. That's how the tech works, so they say. Yes, hypothetically, they could be lying through their teeth and have the microphone recording everything. Or, maybe when the FBI knocks on their door, they just turn yours on to start listening. But that ship has sailed. If you have a cell phone, there's already a hypothetical back door for them to turn on the microphone if they wanted to listen to you specifically.

quote:

Any other members have one? Tips, advice, or skills?

My wife got me the ECHO a few months ago. I've really enjoyed it, especially the music options that are included as part of AMAZON PRIME. One of the additional features that we use most often is the SHOPPING LIST capability. I can make a simple statement like "ALEXA, add Frank's Hot Sauce" and "she" will reply that it has been added to the shopping list. When we get to the supermarket, I simply open the ALEXA app on my phone and there is the entire shopping list...very convenient. I'm not sure if it can support more than one shopping list at a time. If it can, it would be nice to have a groceries and maybe a Home Depot and/or Advance Auto list to which I could direct entries simply by including the list name as part of the "ALEZA, add..." command.

Re the concerns that practically everything said in the room is recorded, that appears to simply not be the case. The program records only what is said immediately after the "ALEXA" awakening word is spoken. Those comments, including any unintelligible gibberish that may ave been picked up, are all available on-line for review and/or deletion. Could one of the alphabet agencies use it as a back door into my living room? I don't know and I'm nowhere nearly as qualified to speak to all of the hazards of using this or similar devices as are some of the other forum members. I can only assume they are intimately familiar with all aspects of the overall ALEXA program, systems, hardware, and software, so, bowing to their expertise, I must also assume it is indeed ripe for abuse by all of the shadow agencies. Thank goodness the microphone MUTE button is on top and easy to hit.

However, it is still quite entertaining and I'm looking forward to getting farther into some of its more sophisticated capabilities such as the home automation interface.

I hope you enjoy yours.

I am not sure why you guys are worried about spying, I guess I get it but I assume none of you have smart phones which can be turned into a microphone at any time via hacking etc... I got the echo dot as a gift. unfortunately my phone is android 4.3 so I cant use it. Tried it with the Chromebook and it didnt work... SO I am still waiting.

Like 46n2 I think my problem will be I want it to work just like "Jarvis" and it wont be functional enough. I plan on taking my echo to work for easy questions etc...

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
I am not sure why you guys are worried about spying, I guess I get it but I assume none of you have smart phones which can be turned into a microphone at any time via hacking etc...

Oh come on. Do you really think this is comparable? No one is hacking my phone and listening to my conversations in my living room.

The very real truth though is that this device does indeed record your conversations and stores those conversations off site. I get that many of you don't care and chalk it up to "it's the way things are now," but not me. I'm not inviting that type of intrusion into my home. And don't try to convince me that I already have since I have a smartphone because that's simply not true at all.

And for the truly cautious among us, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't after you....

A rather large difference between someone hacking my phone to listen to conversations and me inviting someone to do so by agreeing to use their product. If you consider your privacy something to be given away to anyone who asks, well then good for you. But it's no longer privacy then is it?

You guys are funny. If you attract government attention, they don't need Alexa, Dot, or anything to cover your life. You honestly think paying cash, not using Debit card/credit cards gets you to the clear?

Live in a hole and eat roots and grass and you MIGHT escape big brother. Much better to fade into the background of electric noise and be a gray man.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:
Live in a hole and eat roots and grass and you MIGHT escape big brother. Much better to fade into the background of electric noise and be a gray man.

RMD

I know I'm never escaping big brother. He has my fingerprints, my DNA, knows all of my kin and where they and I have lived for over the last twenty plus years, knows my financial history, my marital status, if I have any children, and a host of other things. I had to give it to him for work; I don't have to give it to the almighty Google so they can profit. I use cash because I choose to; as a kid it helped me learn the value of a dollar to actually see and feel it, and know what it meant to have nothing in my pocket. And how I felt when I earned more to put in there. It's real easy to underestimate the value of money when it's only virtual.

I would like to see some hard intel on the Dot, Amazons uploading of conversations, how they are being stored, and if any have been used in a court case.

Many of the articles that come up on google are from sources making presumptions but offering up no proof.

It is entirely possible for the tech to record everything, and I do have issue with it storing data on my conversatons. It makes sense that it would as the Echo could hear you talking about needing a new car and then advertisers bombarding you tv, radio, internet, email texts about car deals, or whatever you want.

Hmm hookers and porn will probably be the most requested items.

Then again I did find this morsel...

Privacy experts disagree whether this kind of voice tracking would be illegal.

“These devices are microphones already installed in people’s homes, transmitting data to third parties. So reasonable privacy doesn’t exist. Under the Fourth Amendment, if you have installed a device that’s listening and is transmitting to a third party, then you’ve waived your privacy rights under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act,” said Joel Reidenberg, director of the Center on Law and Information Policy at Fordham Law School in New York City.

But what about people who aren’t the device’s owner themselves, and who never agreed to anything,who find themselves in a room where their voices are being listened to, asks Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington

quote:

Originally posted by SigP239Hokie:
If you want to know what the Internet and advertisers know about you, go here and take a look: https://aboutthedata.com/

They want your email address and the last four digits of your SS number to begin registration for their service.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:

quote:

Originally posted by SigP239Hokie:
If you want to know what the Internet and advertisers know about you, go here and take a look: https://aboutthedata.com/

They want your email address and the last four digits of your SS number to begin registration for their service.

Haha

https://www.engadget.com/2016/...io-data-murder-case/


Police seek Amazon Echo data in murder case (updated)

The company declined to do so, but the case raises bigger questions about IoT privacy.

"Police say Bates had several other smart home devices, including a water meter. That piece of tech shows that 140 gallons of water were used between 1AM and 3AM the night Collins was found dead in Bates' hot tub. Investigators allege the water was used to wash away evidence of what happened off of the patio. The examination of the water meter and the request for stored Echo information raises a bigger question about privacy. At a time when we have any number of devices tracking and automating our habits at home, should that information be used against us in criminal cases?"