Just unplugged Alexa

[Great-Kazoo]

At the risk of sounding like BushMasterBoy: All of our devices are watching and listening.

If you THINK, they're out to get you

You're not paranoid enough.

[mb504]

If you THINK, they're out to get you

You're not paranoid enough.

You are only paranoid enough, if you consider living in a Faraday cage is reasonable.

[rondog]

My wife bought me something similar to an Alexa once for Xmas. I refused to take it out of the box, told her to get rid of it. She was all butthurt, but I told her I was serious - either get a refund or give it to a girlfriend, or I'd take the fucking thing out and shoot it!

Never saw it again.

[hollohas]

Your cell phones are listening too you all the time too. IMO, they're even more dangerous for our privacy then an Echo ever will be. Our phones spend A LOT more time right next to us than a Echo does.

Your phone knows how fast you're driving and where you are at ALL times.

Your phone hears all your conversations.

All your texts, emails, messages, etc all go to a server somewhere where they are analyzed.

It knows how many steps you take each day.

It probably knows your heart rate. And many people tell it their blood pressure, calorie consumption, mood, etc.

It know what hobbies you have. How much money is in your bank account. What websites you visit. What smart devices you have. Who visits your front door.

It probably knows all about what auto insurance you have. And for many people, what health insurance too. And what claims they've had.

If there's an app for that, your phone... and 'they'...know your business.

An Echo is rookie compared to a smart phone.

[hollohas]

Oh, and PS. Amazon Web Services provides cloud storage for many government agencies. Amazon. Your data and the government's all in the same place. How efficient!

We should all be glad Amazon didn't get the larger $10B contract to be the main federal cloud computing provider.

[StagLefty]

Maybe it's because I'm retired and home more than most of you but I enjoy the conveniences of the Echo's. As far as a cell phone I have a $20 one that stays in the truck for emergencies and has over 1K of minutes haha

[colorider]

I have no idea why anyone would want a device like that.

[StagLefty]

I have no idea why anyone would want a device like that.

If you listen to radio a lot like I do,it's great to save time changing stations. I know that sounds lazy but I can change the stations while I'm carving or doing other things.

[Gman]

When I was going through my spinal surgery ordeal, it became pretty much impossible to turn off my bedside table lamp when I went to bed. Having an Echo Dot and a switch gave me the ability to turn the light off with an "Alexa, light off."

If you have some form of mobility/disability issue, having the automation can improve your quality of life. There are 2 sides to this.

My dad is disabled and also loves radio. He got turned onto Prime video and we got him a Fire HD tablet and I later gave him a Fire TV stick. He was loving all of the content he had access to. He decided to get a new Echo Dot and an 83 year old non-techie was able to get it setup. He now has access to more radio content than he's ever had in his life.

I think my Macbook Pro was listening to everything going on around me. I would search for something that was just on TV or in a discussion with the wife with "What is" and the next word was amazingly precise about what was going on. Since I replaced the Macbook Pro with another Windows laptop, that doesn't happen anymore.

[BushMasterBoy]

At the risk of sounding like BushMasterBoy: All of our devices are watching and listening.

Can I change my name to "Big Brother". I am too famous here now. I need to be in the witless protection program.