Users of smart speakers, phones and other devices that contain microphones and cameras should be aware that there may be privacy risks involved with the gadgets — but there are some steps you can take to prevent mishaps.
Two weeks ago, an “unlikely” string of events prompted Amazon’s Echo personal assistant device to record a Portland, Oregon, family’s private conversation and then send the recording to an acquaintance in Seattle, the company said Thursday.
According to Amazon, the Echo’s Alexa voice assistant misheard a word as “Alexa” — a trigger to activate the device — and interpreted subsequent conversation as