Did you know that Amazon employees might be able to listen to your conversations with Alexa? Reports have surfaced about Amazon’s global team of employees who listen to recordings from Echo Speakers and other Alexa devices to improve the AI’s understanding and interaction with users. This raises concerns about privacy and surveillance.
During this process, Amazon employees transcribe and annotate your conversations to educate Alexa and expand its knowledge base. While some might find this unsettling, it is important to note that these employees do not have access to your full name and address. Instead, they have access to your account number, first name, and device serial number.
If you’re concerned about your privacy, there are steps you can take to minimize the invasion. While you cannot completely prevent these employees from overhearing your conversations, you can make adjustments to your Alexa privacy settings to limit the amount of data shared and analyzed.
For example, you can open the Alexa mobile app and navigate to Alexa Account > Alexa Privacy > Manage how your data improves Alexa. From there, you can disable options like “Help develop new features” and “Use messages to improve transcriptions” for all profiles on your account. This will limit the extent to which Amazon’s team can study your voice interactions with Alexa.
It’s important to note that the only foolproof solution to safeguard your privacy is to stop using Amazon devices altogether. However, by adjusting your privacy settings, you can at least prevent some third parties from accessing your conversations with Alexa.
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