Google Home: Google employees listen to conversations

Every 500th voice command is evaluated by Google employees. A leak from Belgium shows that there are also many unintentionally recorded calls and phone calls, with private and intimate content.

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Every 500th voice command is evaluated by Google employees. A leak from Belgium shows that there are also many unintentionally recorded calls and phone calls, with private and intimate content.

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Google employees also listen to users' conversations with their Google badistant. More than 1,000 audio recordings of smart devices have been broadcast on the Belgian broadcaster VRT. Some of them were inadvertently recorded because the badistant had misunderstood a trigger. The interviews, listened to and transcribed by Google employees, sometimes contained private and intimate information, for example on health.

The audio clips come from voice commands and conversations that Belgian users have had with their Google Home devices or Google Assistant on Android smartphones. About 1,000 of these records must be heard and transcribed by a Google partner each week. In a statement, Google says that about 0.2% of orders and voice conversations were transcribed by Google employees. This is at least every 500 voice commands. This is particularly likely to be inadvertently recorded because often the badistant does not understand the discussions.

Google Home Max

One of the contractors or language experts, as Google calls them, has submitted more than 1,000 records to VRT. The broadcaster was able to partially verify the recordings by broadcasting them to the persons concerned. Among others, the Flemish grandparents, whose son and grandson are in the background of the recording conversation (sought). In a recording, their address was also called, so that the broadcaster could contact them. For example, in other sequences, Google employees were able to listen to users asking for weather forecasts, office hours or badgraphic videos.

Google's badistant unintentionally recorded about 150 recordings of the audio recordings that filtered. Below are fragments of telephone conversations and private conversations. Among them were people who were discussing personal and health issues, such as healing a sore, growing their child, or living in love. Other private conversations and conflicts can be found in the records, according to VRT.

Google Home Mini

Google points out that employees transcribe conversations to improve the quality of speech processing technology. The Google Privacy Statement states: "Access to personal information is reserved for us and is restricted to Google employees, contractors, and customer service representatives who require it for further processing."In addition, they can be used to display useful advertisements for users, and the fact that the data collector and its employees listen to confidential conversations – some of which are inadvertently recorded – is unpleasant to many, which the contractor has invoked as reason to the journalists.

Accurate information "scares" users

In April, it was announced that Amazon employees were evaluating voice commands. Unlike Google and Apple, they had also been able to display additional customer data. With Apple's Siri voice badistant, users can not delete their voice recordings. On the other hand, Veale has lodged a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Supervisor.

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Learn more about: Google Home

Source: Golem