I want an Alexa!

[behappy1736]

I want an Alexa and DH insists we aren't having one as they are 'Unsafe and a potential hacking heaven' 🤦🏻‍♀️
I've tried explaining that loads of people have them but he says that they are an invasion of privacy and vulnerable to hackers gaining info and access to many thing.
Thoughts?!

Another thing that pains me with them is when they ask you if you want to rate something you bought on Amazon

Between 2018 - 2022 from the numbers I can find Amazon sold over 300 million Alexa devices. The effort storage and people power you would need to capture and anaylise all that data for any meaning full way though spying you would need an entire millitary agency specialised in this area what for to hear what miss Jones is asking Alexa to do " Alexa light on" , "Alexa play radio pop", "Alexa time".

Seriously some people need to get a grip. Any data farmed would be very very generalised and have little impact what so ever.

Yes some people may get hacked with devices, bot you have to either be very unlucky or most likely a deliberate target with a very focused attack.

I know people may say my Facebook was hacked, that's a different thing that's some one who has clicked a phishing link, or opened a virus or script due to being tricked. They were not hacked in the traditional sense.

If you care about privacy and are concerned then either don't go on the internet fullstop or stop using the free routers you get from your provider and actually buy a more expensive one. I have a good router and I can see how many times it has blocked my kids phones getting malicious links and spyware by clicking shared posts and messages on Facebook, twitter, what's app, ect with hidden potentially damaging code.

I don’t like them but we have them. Unplugged mainly.

ny mum was listening to a certain artist while in the bath once and the next time she ran a bath…it burst into life and asked her if she wanted that artist again. Properly freaked us all out. Alexa was apparently off at the time.

I like mine and just got an Echo Show for the kitchen as the Dot we've had in there for years has gone a bit flaky, probably from being knocked off the plug socket it was balancing on so often. The Dot is now upstairs, and we have an Echo in the living room as well.

I mainly use them for music, timers, and turning smart plugs on and off, and they're useful for random questions DS asks like what's the population of China, and random questions I ask, like is sweetcorn high fodmap. I got a Show for the kitchen to look at recipes online without needing to use my phone.

I've had no problems playing Spotify though Alexa and don't ever remember Amazon Music being pushed.

Yes, someone else said further up the thread. Must be a new(ish) feature as they didn't used to. Good to know. Everyday is a learning day here 👍

They did for years

I love my Alexa Show, I have two - one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. I mainly use them for alarms, music, shopping lists, asking what the weather is going to be like later, help with crosswords, spellings etc! Also connected to the ring doorbell so I can see who's at the door even if I don't have my phone on me.

They're great. Ever had an issue. Plays my radio and music and wakes me up. Love her

I'm really not sure what the point of them is. I can turn lights on easily with my finger, I can add to a shopping list on my iPhone etc etc - im just not seeing an upside other than another gadget (which I don't want).

We have one. I can’t really see the point of it. I guess it’s quite handy.

I couldn’t give a hoot if me saying ‘see timer for..’ or my Spotify is being listened to.

Of course if someone doesn't want some gadget they won't see upsides of it😉

It is a lifesaver for scatter brain of mine, but lots of people don't need it or don't want it. That's fine.

Love mine.
Occasionally tell her to make cat purring noises - confuses my one!

If you have a smart anything in your house your Husbands argument doesn't make sense. Buy an Alexa

Ex logged into mine and listened to my conversations. My child has a name like Alexa and whenever I said her name it must have activated and recorded. Obviously I no longer have one

Our friends gave us a Dot (which they got free when they got a new boiler strangely). They already have a larger Alexa - don't know the style.

We just use it for music. It's paired with my iPhone so we can play my stuff and we use it for the radio and podcasts. DH ordered a little base unit so we can use it out in the garden.

We like it. It's small and compact and unobtrusive in our living room, much better than our old stereo system. We can still play cds through our blu-ray player so no loss there. Not bothered about using it to turn on the lights or making calls through it.

This always confuses me because theyre is no way I can figure out to drop in without it playing sound to notify about someone dropping in?

I don't really understand it all. Basically when it hears the trigger noise it silently records to gather info for personalisation or something.
You can then log in on your app to listen to what's been saved.
It was a horrible experience and left me feeling very vulnerable!

It's literally always listening for the trigger words, so never not paying attention

Oh yeah you can listen to activity which are recordings of your tasks and questions. That is yuck as well in this case.

Yeah I'd been speaking to my child's nursery teacher on the phone and he messaged me to tell me he knew what I'd said. At first I thought she had broken confidence and talked but then I realised and will always wonder now what else he had listened to.
So not a fan of Alexas!

We really like ours. I've found it hard to find out all their features on line so follow them on Instagram now because it highlights cool and quirky things (yes, I know I'm a loser!). I've found the lists, reminders etc really useful for mine and my dc's ADHD. We use it with the hallway, bathroom, bedroom etc lights too so we don't have to follow the kids to the bathroom in the dark to help them switch on lights and banish monsters.

Would recommend getting one with a screen, especially if you want it in the kitchen, because you can look up pictures, recipes etc. You can even get the words to songs up to do kitchen karaoke sessions🤣

See I don't have any of these issues. I have a couple of dots around the house and think they're fantastic

I gotta give them kudos for understanding me on first try because I have weird accent😂 not british and you can bery clearly hear it

I mainly use mine as a speaker to listen to music. But it's useful for timers and alarms, as you can set them hands free - especially useful for me in the kitchen, alongside asking what 180 is in gas mark, what an American cup size is in sensible measurements etc.

My parents on the other hand have smart light bulbs everywhere and control them all through Alexa. I have one, it works via Bluetooth and doesn't work if my phone's Bluetooth is on, but when it works it's good as it's dimmable and we don't have a dimmer switch.