Dh doesn't want an Amazon dot in our room

[cheesenpickles]

Lighthearted! I've just had a discussion (inverted commas type) about getting an Amazon echo for downstairs and a dot for our room. We have a Sonos in there that barely gets used because of the faff with using the app etc.

Suggested that I wanted to buy these with my Xmas money and he made a big thing about it listening in and how he doesn't want that intrusion, particular in the bedroom. He then got cross when I reminded him he sleeps with his iPad and iPhone next to him and then stormed off when I said "Hey Siri" and it chirped up.

Aibu?

There’s a button on the top that turns off the microphone.

We have a dot in the living room and a spot in the bedroom that’s like a fancy alarm clock/weather forecaster.

Ooh that's good to know about the off button. Decision made then!

"Turns off the microphone"

😂

I'm with your husband. The whole idea of it really creeps me out.

I’m with your husband - it records everything

turns off - LOL

It doesn’t record everything. It records when you say Alexa as it helps to know how it’s getting used. The paranoia about Alexa is hilarious.

Yanbu. It's not the Alexa thing itself that's unreasonable because some people do hate them, but if he's got his iPhone with him 24/7 and that's got Siri activated he's being a hypocrite.

Nenic

It literally does record everything. It explicitly tells you this in the T&C. The need for the "code" word is to aid interaction with the device. Saying "Alexia" is the equivalent of hitting search on a web page. Think of it this way, if it wasn't constantly recording it wouldn't "hear" you when you said "Alexia".

As for turning the microphone off

I'm with your dh tbh. I find the whole thing creepy and unnecessary. It is listening to you (otherwise how would it hear its wake word?) and it does record what you say just before hearing (or even if it thinks it's heard) that word. It's easy to hack and how would you know if it had been? Also, apart from the voice command thing, what does it so that you can't already do with the things already in your house (e.g. your phone, your light switches, your alarm clock, your radio, the timer on your boiler and the thermostat on the wall)? Imo it's a gimmick that spies on you and uses your private conversations to sell you stuff.

I'm with your DH. Alexa's not setting foot in this house!

Depending on the accent Dot can recognise potentially any word as Alexa. Also remember that it uses speech recognition NOT voice recognition: so anyone who says Alexa first could buy shit from your Amazon account

I don’t get the point of them so I wouldn’t be having one either.

Another who is with your DH. There is no chance of Alexa setting foot in my home

I'm with your DH. I find them pointless and creepy.

I also don't get how it's not listening when surely it has to listen to hear the alert word.

I'm with your DH too, I like tech, but the idea of it constantly listening just creeps me out, and yes I know mobiles can be configured to essentially the same thing, they're not for that and at least serve a useful purpose.

I'm also with your DH. I don't want a listening device in my house. Unlike your DH I got the listening bit of my Android phone disabled by a teenager (I've been calling my children 'Tech Support' for some years now), so that I could continue to be sweary and fart in bed while it was charging up and being ready to be an alarm clock in the morning.

There is recording and then there is listening.
It definitely listens.
I personally have no idea whether it does record, but given other scandals re use of data by facebook etc it isn't outside the realms of possibility.
We have just given DD1 a dot for Christmas, but it has to be in her bedroom, not our living spaces.

Hard no from here too.
Your data is currency and with Alexa etc you are letting big companies rob you.

I'm surprised to hear you find Sonos a faff, we love ours and they get used daily, I'd happily have another Sonos in our house over Alexa.

I'm with your husband - it listens to absolutely everything - it has to, otherwise it can't hear you say Alexa.

They freak me out. There's no way I'm having one in my home (and no, I don't have Siri or Google activated on my phone either).

Urgh, maybe I'm silly but I don't like the idea of a device like that in our bedroom either. I always turned the baby monitors off when we came to bed for the same reason.

In fact, we don't have tech or screens in our room at all, and (try to) turn phones off overnight too. Clearly that's not your DH's issue though if he's happy with Sonos!

Definitely with your DH on this one too.

I'm another one who is with your DH..I don't like them at all.

I love my dot as does dh, he likes being able to make her play music without him needing to move, we will also ask for weather, the time - basics but handy in winter to be able to know if the car is likely to need scraping (thus needing to get up earlier) before leaving the comfort of my bed. Yes there's a microphone but we aren't that interesting, nobody wants to spy on us