Alexas in kids bedrooms

[unlikelychump]

Do you have alexas in kids bedrooms? What do they use them for? Can you restrict one from talking to another?

I'm hoping they will stop arguments or yelling between rooms, but perhaps they will cause more!!

My phone doesn't come into my bedroom and all "listening" and tracking functionality is turned off my phone as far as it can be. Tech is a necessary evil in today's society but bedrooms should be a protected space for absolute privacy.

We use it for white noise mainly. But also to turn lights on and off and open and close the curtains. DH is smart home mad. Couldn’t get in my front door tonight because the smart lock had lost calibration. I just try to embrace the benefits because he’s not changing any time soon.

Fair enough - not something I have a problem with personally but I appreciate you explaining your viewpoint.

They listen to you

I know that - but so does your phone I was asking what people felt the difference was.

I can't see much difference between them and phones etc for listening.

I also think using it to "announce things" becomes a slippery slope to not popping in and saying hi and having a chat.

I turn my phone listening off as much as possible (no saying “hey Siri” here) and don’t have it in my bedroom as a conscious decision.

think about all the stupid stuff you used to talk about with your friends as a pre teen/teen. Do you really want that stored about your child forever? If it has a cloud connection it’s hackable too

mp3 players and a basic speaker can do music, audiobooks etc.

Or even just heard by your parents. Go and check your audio files from your Alexa's...

DD4 just uses hers to listen to music. It's got the Kids Plan on it so it doesn't play naughty words. 😂

We have them - music/alarms/drop in so I don’t have to yell up the stairs.

we don’t have international secrets or anything useful “they” can use from listening to our conversations and I have my phone with me most of the time so no different to Siri listening. It does mean adverts are targeted but that’s useful.

How do you get that to play audible? Is it hands free or does it require skill to use?

We have them in every room, they switch lights on and off, play music, or connect to a phone as a bluetooth speaker, set alarms, check the weather. Useful for reminders especially when I'm out as they don't always look at their phones. I really don't care they are listening to us. We are not saying anything secret! Why would it matter?

You do know you can turn off the listening feature right???

This.

I don't think people are using them to replace talking to their kids lol more like telling them their dinner is ready when you are in the kitchen juggling plates and dishing it up

I'm not usually weird about privacy and gadgets etc, and I'm definitely not a conspiracy theorist.
However- having been the victim of domestic abuse which involved technology (including Alexa, ring cameras indoors etc), I now don't want any of that stuff anywhere near me and don't allow it in my house. I think it's dangerous.

No way would I put one in any bedroom.

My DD11 has one. Mainly music and random questions she has for Alexa lol! It's just the wee dot she has but it's good enough. She's in her listen to loud music whilst doing her skin care on the phone to her friends phase 😂 xxxx

Ooh how do you
do this?

In the settings for the device, scroll down till you see adaptive listening and then select it and disable

Trying to post a pic but it's not letting me

Pic

I did buy my child one last year but it came on randomly one evening just as he was going to sleep and it upset and scared him. It’s been sitting in my wardrobe ever since.

Yeah you can mute it but then it isn’t working as it can’t hear your voice to work. Otherwise it’s always listening. Always. You do know that right? Even tech experts say not to have it in your bedroom.

No it’s a fair question. Yes we are being tracked and traced constantly but we aren’t being listened to. There is a big difference between something like waze or life 350 and device that is programmed to listen to your voice, record it, process the data and then propose products or answers to you because of it while in the background using your data which can be sold to companies.

This helps to explain it better.

The company says it doesn't sell your data to third parties, but companies can pay to access your data for marketing, serving you ads on both Amazon's own services – like the content and products the recommendation algorithms show you – and to target you with ads on non-Amazon websites across the web.23 Apr 2024

https://pirg.org › edfund › resources
Is Alexa always listening? How to protect your data from Amazon - PIRG

Amazon knows everything you say to Alexa, and keeps that data indefinitely – which can be a lot of information. If you use Alexa for voice-activated shopping, it knows what you're buying and when. Text a friend using Alexa, Amazon knows the content of your message, and also has access to your contacts.23 Apr 2024

https://pirg.org › edfund › resources
Is Alexa always listening? How to protect your data from Amazon - PIRG

1. Amazon collects all kinds of other personal information.

If you use Alexa, Prime, Kindle or other Amazon service, Amazon is using your profile to collect data about you. That can include your credit card info, precise geolocation, what and when you’re streaming, your search history, your photos, contacts, age, and may infer lots of other info, such as your religion (if you listen to the Quran on audiobook), your family status (if you create a wedding or baby registry, or set up a child’s profile), or your gender or race (if you participate in a survey from a 3rd party that works with Amazon, it can get those results too). Amazon also gets user data from the targetedadvertising industry. Amazon may collect data about what you do on other websites using cookies and other tracking technologies. It can also receive data such as demographic information from other sites and companies. Then there’s Ring cameras which collect video and audio recordings and live streams. Amazon can get information about you from Facebook, too, if you link your Ring camera account to your social media account so you can share videos.

So again, hell no to this.