Even Siri is spying on you … and Amazon and Google too!



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It seems that modern tech spy issues have become the topic of daily conversation on the streets, and after reports that WhatsApp violates privacy and accesses private messages, the issues are also flooding Amazon, Google and Apple.

A US federal judge has given the green light to a class action lawsuit alleging that Apple’s voice assistant Siri violates users’ privacy.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said plaintiffs would be allowed to sue to try to prove that Siri regularly records their private conversations and that Apple provided the conversations to advertisers, according to Reuters.

The plaintiffs allege that Apple violated federal wiretapping and California privacy law, among other allegations.

Amazon and Google too

At the same time, separate lawsuits have also been filed against Google and Amazon, similar to those against Siri regarding voice assistants.

One of the most common claims made in these lawsuits is that the conversations were recorded without the user’s consent and then used by advertisers to target complainants.

How to protect yourself?

Amazon, Apple, and Google all offer smart audio speakers that use various forms of voice assistant technology that are activated when users say keywords such as “Hey Siri” for Apple devices, “OK Google” for Google products or “Alexa” for Amazon smartphones. .

Amazon devices store this data when it is activated with a keyword, or something called an alert word.

In contrast, an Amazon spokesperson told FOX Business that “no audio is stored or sent to the cloud unless the device detects the alert word (or Alexa is activated by pressing a button)”.

siri

siri

He added that “customers have several options to manage their recordings, including the ability to not record their recordings at all and the ability to automatically delete recordings continuously for a period of three or 18 months.”

Also, it specifies that if you do not want to be recorded by Alexa, you just have to go to the “Confidentiality” menu, then “Manage your Alexa data” in order to “Choose the duration of the recording backup”, then select it. ‘Do not save’ Recordings’ option.

Collect records for better services

It’s worth noting that Amazon collects the audio recordings and uses them to provide and improve the services, according to the company.

This may include helping train Alexa to better understand different dialects and provide the correct response to requests. Amazon also said it looked at the data “manually” but didn’t sell it.

Apple (iStock)

Apple (iStock)

For its part, Apple made it clear in a 2019 statement that it no longer keeps Siri recordings without user permission, noting that Siri will only keep your data if you choose to subscribe through Settings on devices. Apple.

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