Couple ditches Amazon Alexa after it begins having ‘creepy’ conversations with husband
Many of us would be lost without virtual assistants like Amazon's Alexa.
Whether you want to switch some music on, turn on a timer while you're cooking or set yourself a reminder for later, they've become basically invaluable.
But not everyone is quite so keen on their Alexa.
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Take TikTok user Jess, who goes by the handle @cozylifewithbless. In a video that's clocked up 61.6K likes and 2,745 comments on tha platform, she proclaimed: "My husband and I are officially done with Alexa."
Jess spoke through some of the instances that made her part ways with the device - firstly that her Alexa recognised her voice and greeted her by name.
"I think it's already weird that Alexa can recognise my voice," she said.
She also mentioned an instance when she was out of town and the Alexa apparently kept on talking to her husband unprompted.
"As soon as she was speaking after not being talked to at all, [I] unplugged it and yesterday I ordered a kitchen timer," Jess said - as she realised she was only really using the Alexa for setting a timer when cooking.
Some people in the comments section have shared similar experiences, with one saying: "I also caught my Alexa at 3:00am whispering to my dogs in the kitchen. I thought someone was in the house. I unplugged it."
But another has come to Alexa's defense, citing a time it actually saved a life: "It saved my mom when she fell and didn't have her cell with her. It heard her calling for help, asked if she needed help and called me."
And some commenters were quick to note there is "nothing strange going on", particularly with Alexa recognising the TikToker's voice - as that's a setting you can activate.
According to Amazon, 'You can create a voice ID, so Alexa can call you by name and do more to personalize your experience.'
And what about Alexa chatting away when it's not actually been summoned? That could be down to a 'false wake'. This is when you say a word near the device, which the Alexa accidentally interprets as directed toward it. A good example of this is if you ever yell the word 'Alex' near your Alexa, which will likely think you're talking to it.
'We have a team of world-class scientists and engineers dedicated to continually improving our wake word detection technology and preventing false wakes from happening,' Amazon says.