Every owner of an Amazon Echo knows the response: “this is Something you’re asking you in the living room? The with is listening the whole time.” And somehow that is also correct: Amazons language speaker, listening to every noise. Afraid you have to have before that, but no. At least not more than the Smartphone.

The seven microphones, the Echo is listening in the room, in fact, quite a bit. However, most of the sounds are of the device. The recording only starts when this magic word is heard – and- Alexa. Then Echo shows up with his blue Ring, that he’s listening, turning down the volume, picks up everything and sends the recording to a Server of Amazon. First, there is decrypted, what was actually said accurately, and the appropriate response to the Echo sent. Without the Internet, Alexa understands only train station.

No wiretapping – at least not with intention

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By Malte Mansholt

The privacy is still protected, because Echo is listening only on command – at least in the rule. From time to time, the blue Ring is, in fact, even if something else was said, the Echo is interpreted but “Alexa” in. Because in a movie, or audiobook an Alexander is mentioned or in a TV show on Alexa is spoken. Or because of a fragments of conversation, just similar sounds. You can get the accidental recording, it is finished with the command, “Alexa, Stop!” quickly.

But what if you notice nothing of the intrusion into personal privacy. Then it may well come to the embarrassing recordings. Here, you can quickly create clarity, what is on Amazon’s servers: All of the recordings are available to the user.

to listen to all the Alexa footage

to do this, Open the Alexa App on your Smartphone. Tap the top left icon with the three dashes, then click “settings” and finally “history”. Here you will find all recordings that have processed Amazon’s Server. Itself, in which nothing was understood. You go through the records, in addition to the commands most of the time only snippets of conversation or hear the TV program. Who discovered embarrassing pictures, one can delete on the spot.

to protect his privacy a little better, the Echo of suitable opportunities. So you can get the beginning and end of a recording by beep show. The Option you can find in the settings under the name of your Echo. The point of the “sounds” must be the switch “Start of request and end of request” to get clipped. You want to bind the recording, the directly at the device: With the mute the microphones be switched off button completely, until you turn them manually again. Or you pull the cable.

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