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How to stop your smart tech spying on you in your own home, broadcasting your conversations and letting burglars in
- Your voice-controlled speaker or smart TV may be giving away your private details or unlocking your door to hackers
- Experts explain how you can reduce the danger and make your home and life more secure
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Why you can trust SCMP
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Did someone invite a spy into your home over the holidays? Maybe so, if a friend or family member gave you a voice-controlled speaker or some other smart device.
It’s easy to forget, but everything from internet-connected speakers with voice assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, to television sets with built-in Netflix, can be always listening – and sometimes watching. As with almost all new technology, installing such devices means balancing privacy risks with the convenience they offer.
The research firm IDC estimates worldwide shipments of 815 million smart speakers, security cameras and other devices in 2019, up 23 per cent from 2018. Many of the sales are for gifts.
You could sidestep the risks altogether by returning the devices right away. But if you decide to keep them – and the artificial intelligence behind them – there are a few things you can do to minimise their eavesdropping potential.
Smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home let you check weather and appointments with simple voice commands. Fancier versions come with cameras and screens.
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