Amazon's Alexa is our go-to for everything, from weather forecasts to Elon Musk's net worth.
But experts are warning that it's best to keep the Amazon voice-activated smart device out of the bedroom.
The warning came after Dr Hannah Fry, a mathematician and expert on tech company algorithms at University College London, claimed that the device can record conversations. Therefore, it should not be placed in private areas such as the bedroom and bathroom.
Advert
She explained: 'I think there are some spaces in your home, like the bedroom and bathroom, which should remain completely private.
'This technology is activated by a trigger word but it keeps recording for a short period afterwards. People accept that, but we should all spend more time thinking about what it means for us.'
How did she gather proof of this?
Well, Fry explained that she reached out to tech firms and asked them to provide the data they'd collected on her. She later found out the tech device had creepily recorded conversations from within her home.
An Amazon spokeswoman said that Echo devices are designed to only record audio once the device recognises specific words. However, I think we all know that Alexa is always listening.
One report wrote: 'Everyone who purchases an Alexa must consent to the fact that it could often be recording you, so it may give you more peace of mind by keeping it in the same spot you feel comfortable having company in.'
Furthermore, the multinational tech company said in a statement: 'Access to these review tools is only granted to a limited number of employees who require them to improve the service. Our review process does not associate voice recordings with any customer identifiable information.'
However, in response to customers speaking out against privacy concerns, Amazon mentioned that Alexa owners can ‘opt-out’ of having their recordings used by Amazon staff.
To turn off this feature, users need to go to 'Settings' on the Alexa app, select 'Privacy' and then ‘Manage Your Alexa Data’.
Tap ‘How Long to Save Recordings’, then ‘Don’t Save Recordings’ and press confirm.
Also, Amazon owners can scroll down to ‘Help Improve Alexa’ and toggle the ‘Use of Voice Recordings’ to off.
On some devices, you may receive a message informing you that turning the setting off will mean ‘new features may not work well for you’. But if you are cautious about being listened in on, it might be worth a try.