7 Ways Alexa and Amazon Echo Pose a Privacy Risk

Whether you were not aware or forgot the details when presented with the privacy risks of using Alexa, it is something important every Echo owner should consider. Here are seven privacy invasions possible when you own an Amazon Echo device.

1. It is Always Listening

One of the most common knocks against the Echo is that it is “always listening.” While this is true, most people do not understand what exactly Alexa is listening for.

Unless you have the Mute toggle enabled, your Echo is always listening for the wake word, Alexa. Your device locally processes the audio it hears and deletes the running buffer of audio a few seconds after it picks it up.

Amazon cannot hear everything you are saying —  that information never leaves your device. However, once the Echo hears Alexa, it sends your following command to Amazon’s servers, processes it, and then your Echo plays the answer.

2. New Echo Devices Have a Camera

If having an always-on microphone was not enough, how about adding a camera too? Even if you’re comfortable with the potential privacy invasions of a microphone, a camera is on an entirely different level.

The Echo Look, one of Amazon’s newest devices, has a camera designed to take regular pictures of you and help you get fashion advice.

While the Look is solely for fashion now, a software update could add more functionality to help Amazon identify even more data about you. Algorithms could analyze a picture and notice that you are almost out of paper towels in your kitchen, then recommend you buy some on Amazon.

In 2012, Target was able to identify that a young woman was pregnant and sent her coupons for baby-related items in the mail. It did so by tracking her purchasing habits — her father did not even know she was pregnant.

3. The Drop-In Feature

The Look is not the only camera-equipped Echo device. Amazon’s Echo Show and the smaller Echo Spot both have screens and cameras. These allow you to do all sorts of tasks that the standard Echo devices can’t do, including video chats. They also include a feature called Drop-In that’s a privacy invasion waiting to happen.

Basically, Drop-In allows you to video call a trusted friend without them confirming the call. Normally, when you initiate a call, the other party must accept. But if you enable Drop-In for a certain user, calling them will allow you to start seeing video from their Echo after a few seconds of a “frosted glass” view.

Amazon says this feature is designed for parents checking in on their babies or to make chatting with elderly parents simple. But enabling this, even with a family member you trust, can still be a privacy concern.

4. Your Discussions Are Recorded

We discussed Alexa’s listening habits earlier, but there is another key factor. When you issue a command to your Echo, Amazon keeps a recording of what you said and Alexa’s response tied to your account. You can actually go back and listen to these (or delete them) later.

While you can delete them anytime, obviously having a record of what you have said to your Echo could violate your privacy at some point. Anyone with your phone could read through what you have recently said and gain insight about what is troubling you or what you are interested in. And of course, it is all stored on Amazon’s servers for analysis.

5. They are Susceptible to Hacking

Hacking could let malicious folks take over your smart device and use its microphone and camera for fraudulent purposes. Wired explained how one security researcher could turn an Echo into a wiretap just by getting his hands on it.

6. It Introduces New Forms of Advertising

The Echo introduces a unique landscape for ads that does not work on other platforms. Many services with ads feature them as the first results when you search, with the actual content underneath them — Google and Amazon both do this. Most people know how to spot ads and simply scroll past them.

But on the Echo, where you shop by voice, this doesn’t really work. For instance, if you say “Alexa, I want to order paper towels,” your Echo could say “Okay, how about Bounty?” If you like a specific brand, you might ask to order those instead. But people who don’t care will likely order the first brand Alexa mentions.

7. You are Helping Amazon Sell More to You

Many of the Echo’s privacy problems come down to one simple fact:

Amazon designs its devices to make it easier for you to spend more money on Amazon.

Of course, most Amazon devices are still solid. But there’s no getting around their true purpose:

When you buy a Kindle, you’ll start buying digital books from Amazon.

The failed Fire Phone was built around a feature called Firefly that let you scan objects and buy them on Amazon.

Dash Buttons and the Dash Wand let you order more products from Amazon with extreme ease.

Amazon Prime lets you pay Amazon so that, among other benefits, buying from Amazon is faster.

With an Echo in your home, Amazon hopes you’ll use the convenience to order groceries from it (via voice) instead of buying them in a store.