Your smartphone may be listening to more than you know.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 CBC News | 2017-12-15 19:43:07 |  12,744 Views |
How your privacy is affected by digital assistants
Google is facing a lawsuit accusing the company of recording conversations with people who accidentally activate its voice assistant on their phones. Experts say smart assistants are a potential privacy nightmare.
"Think of voice-controlled assistants as members of your household, with one big difference—unlike other living members of your household, these assistants are constantly paying attention to you—and they don't forget," Pankaj Srivastava, a privacy expert and CEO of management consulting firm PracticalSpeak, said in an email interview. "What could go wrong?"
A proposed class action alleges that Google and parent company Alphabet Inc. violated privacy laws. Google Assistant reacts to phrases like "Hey Google" or "Ok Google". But the plaintiffs said Google didn't have the right to use their conversations for targeted advertising when Google Assistant misinterpreted what they said as activating the software.
