Google admits the error on a hidden microphone

Google acknowledged making a mistake by not revealing that one of its home alarm products contained a microphone.

The product specifications for Nest Guard, available since 2017, made no mention of the listening device.

But earlier this month, the company announced that a software update would allow Nest Guard to control the voice.

On Twitter, worried Nest owners were informed that the microphone "had not been used yet".

Business Insider was the first to report development.

Nest Guard is one of the components of the Nest Secure home security product line. The system includes various sensors that can be monitored remotely by the user.

Nest Guard is an all-in-one alarm, keyboard and motion sensor but, although it was announced more than a year ago, the word "microphone" has not been added to the product specification than this month.

The change coincided with the announcement of its compatibility with Google Assistant.

In response to criticism, Google said Tuesday: "The built-in microphone to the device was never intended to be a secret and should have been included in the technical specifications." It was an error on our part . "

He added: "The microphone has never been activated and is activated only when users specifically activate the option.

"Security systems often use microphones to provide features based on sound detection.We have included the microphone on the device, so that we can potentially offer additional features to our users at the same time. future, such as the ability to detect shards of glbad. "

The company's mea culpa has been accepted as authentic by many observers, but some say it still raises important privacy issues.

"It's the kind of thing that makes me paranoid smart devices for the home," commented Nick Heer, editor of the Pixel Envy blog.

"If I had one of these things and discovered that the biggest advertising company in the world was hiding a microphone at home for a year, I would be livid."

Big Brother Watch, a British group specializing in privacy campaigns, added: "Many of our concerns about smart home devices seem to be true … Google should be held accountable for advertising wrongly made for this product. "

Nest Guard went on sale in the United States last year as part of Google's Secure Alarm System. A European and Canadian release is also planned but has not yet taken place.

Nest, a company known for its smart thermostat, was acquired by Google in February 2014 for $ 3.2 billion (£ 2.5 billion).

This recognition came a few days after Singapore Airlines was criticized for installing cameras in the backs of some seats of its aircraft as part of a new in-flight entertainment system.

The company confirmed the existence of cameras on Sunday, but said that they had been disabled and added that he did not plan to use them.

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Additional report by Leo Kelion

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