Despite being easily debunked, these myths have put some people off smart speakers in general.
We’re here to dispel many of the most common myths about Alexa.
However, only the first part is true.
Image Credit:Amazon
Alexa is listening all the time, but only for the word Alexa.
Once you say the wake word, thats when Alexa begins recording.
you could filter by devices and profiles and see your entire voice history.
Image Credit:Amazon
you’ve got the option to also delete specific recordings or delete all recordings from a given period.
Its important to preface that Alexa can be vulnerable to hacking, just like any electronic rig.
But almost all verifiable evidence of an Echo being hacked involves either requiring physical access or oversight by users.
For example,one studyfound that researchers could install fake skills by using slightly different names.
This is used alongside extensivemanual and automated penetration testing, which mitigates vulnerabilities before malicious actors discover them.
There are many things it can do, but just as many (or more) things it cant.
Part of these limitations is due to the current state of AI technology.
However, Alexas language processing skills are limited.
Questions like how many legs does an elephant have?
will prompt Alexa to use its AI skills to search the web and determine the answer to be four.
But if you ask Alexa, how many legs do 10 elephants have?
itll say four because it cant yet process the question as naturally as we might like.
Because of their limited resources, some features are prioritized over others, while others are technically infeasible.
Amazon Uses Your Personal Conversations for Targeted Ads
The emphasis is on the word personal here.
As stated earlier, Alexa will only record speech after its heard its wake word.
But thats not to say that Amazon doesnt use your conversations with Alexa to target ads.
Unlike a phone call, theres no opportunity to decline a Drop In.
There are multiple immediate barriers to this, however.
For one, Drop In from an Echo outside your home is disabled by default.
Lastly, Alexa will play a unique sound that indicates that a Drop In has begun.
Still Not Convinced?
Hopefully, this article will have put your mind at ease over some myths surrounding Alexa.
