Watch CBS News

Need A Good Listener? Amazon And Google Are Here For You

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) — A local consumer group is warning consumers that digital personal assistants may eventually be listening without your consent.

Alexa or Google may talk to you through smart gadgets, like Google Home and Amazon Echo, but Amazon and Google officials say their devices don't begin listening until you say a specific word—like "Alexa" or "hey Google"

Wednesday in Santa Monica, Consumer Watchdog released a report that suggests the companies may be planning on listening and watching  in the future, without you even noticing.

Consumer Watchdog President Jaime Court points to patent applications by Google and Amazon that may show future uses of these devices.

A patent diagram from Google appears to describe how the device can monitor your children,  it says:  "detect child occupancy" then "detect whispers or quiet while active", "infer mischief" and "report/record findings."

Another diagram shows a camera capturing an image of a book by your bed, while the Google assistant appears to  say "I noticed you have a copy of the Godfather by your bed, the movie based on this book is showing tonight at 9:30….."

"The real issue is when are they going to go into the mode and always listening and are they going to give you adequate notice?" Court wonders. "Clearly Google Home and Amazon Alexa anticipate surveilling you and watching your family."

Court's advice to consumers:

"Take away the power source, the plug when you're not using them because if they're on all time, you're at risk."

Google and Amazon have not replied to CBS2 for our request for a response but both companies say your voice is not captured until a fraction of a second before the wake word is spoken and the detection stops the moment you finish your question.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.