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📆 November 25, 2021 | ⏱️ 1 minute read | 🏷️ computing

Turn Off Surveillance Devices

Many fools now voluntarily bug their own homes with "digital assistants". It is beyond a reasonable doubt that these devices also function as corporate/government wiretaps. There are several confirmed news reports showing that Alexas, for example, record and send voice data to Amazon without explicit user consent. Amazon then stores user conversations and will not delete them, even when asked. Police have issued warrants for that voice data and Amazon has a history of cooperation with police. In effect, Amazon is building a total surveillance state.

Persistent audio/video surveillance is a very nasty thing to subject roommates and visitors to. It is a violation of an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy in what is supposed to be a private space. If you're a homeowner or a renter, please don't put these nasty devices in your home.

If you're visiting someone's home or apartment, kindly ask them to disconnect or unplug any digital assistants and smart devices they own. While digital assistants are the worst offenders, smart TVs, smartphones, and internet of stings devices are also known to snoop. These wiretaps don't belong in people's homes in the first place, so you're well within the bounds of reason to request privacy.