Siri spying on me…

Maybe ban her from the bedroom, just in case 😉

Siri works by listening to what you ay incase you want her to do something - so when you mention something it is assumed tht you are interested in it and want more information. So does Alexa. I visited my daughter soon after they intalled Alexa in their kitchen. Every time someone said anything with "ex" in it Alexa answered them! There is no way I would have any of these voice-activated systems in my house!

If I was completely unable to control something without using one of them, I would switch on Alexa or Siri or any other of the damned things at the socket first, then switch it off again as soon as I had used it to switch on whatever gadget was essential!

I don’t actually use Siri so I need to just switch her off.

Early one morning, I was woken up by Alexa saying something. I don’t know what she said. Perhaps she was reacting to my snoring?

^ There is no way I would have any of these voice-activated systems in my house!
^

Me neither.

Mine is only on my iPad. I don’t have one of those speakers in the room or have it on my tv. It freaks me out at my son or daughters house when Alexa speaks up.

I have Alexa and have no problem with it..

Have you had other ads on Facebook you didn't notice because they weren't relevant to you?

Sometimes I think these connections are just coincidence-the alternative is too worrying.

I don't have any voice activated systems either- sometimes it just picks up things on my phone...

I’m not sure. I’m always googling things so most things that pop up are related to things I’ve googled with a view to buying. But I hadn’t googled anything. Oh, hang on; I might have googled the eye condition that was mentioned. Methinks I owe Siri an apology!

You do know that you can choose to have Google/FB etc NOT send you ads for things that you have searched for, looked at briefly, mentioned on social media and so on?

It doesn't stop them sending you random ads for things you didn't even know existed, but at least you don't worry about what else they have learnt about you.

It helps if you clean out the unwanted stuff in your cookie stash from time to time, too, and just keep essential ones and those that refer to the sites that you do visit.

I get worried when I get ads or notifications about something I've literally only THOUGHT about, not even mentioned out loud.

I don't have Alexa. Partly because I don't know how it would cope with 2 languages in our house but mainly because it's simply too much intrusion on privacy.

It's one of the reasons I refuse to have any of those weird robots because I know they listen to conversations!

I have a smartphone and a laptop but no other ''smart'' things and I swear my mobile listens in, I live alone and very rarely have visitors but I regularly talk to myself such as ''I must buy a new microwave tomorrow '' and all of a sudden I'm bombarded with adverts for microwaves!

I switch my laptop and mobile off when not needing them but I think they can still somehow listen in, it's creepy!

JackyB same here! I just have to THINK of something and POOF! Ads and notifications by the truckloads! Weird!

^It's one of the reasons I refuse to have any of those weird robots because I know they listen to conversations!
^

Do they?
I didnt know that.
I dont have them but know people who do.

JackyB - I have had that.- scary !

Me too!

Yes they are equipped to be helpful. Your smart phone does it as well. It knows where you go and it knows what you spend etc.

Frankly I don't give a stuff what they hear. My life is not exciting enough for anyone to be interested in what I'm doing.

It's alarming just how much of our everyday life is "noted" by our IT gismos, swapping bits of info among themselves. I bought a new phone a year ago and was amazed when it immediately started giving me pop-up adds for knitting wool and silver boxes. I'd bought some wool online a while previously and had been searching for a small silver box for DH's birthday, using my PC (not my phone) for both. Somehow, my phone knows what I do on my PC. My tame techno-head tells me it's almost certainly due to browser fingerprinting and/or cookies, which are notoriously difficult to outwit. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio....

"My life is not exciting enough for anyone to be interested in what I'm doing."
I wouldn't be too sure of that, Gummie. One of the great rules of life is "Know who you're dealing with." That includes the things that unexciting people think and do, as well as the big players.

My life is not exciting enough for anyone to be interested in what I'm doing.

What groups are you in?
What interests do you have?
I am pretty sure I could find something that someone would be interested in.

I am a Christian.
That would be me done for, with certain people and countries.

Even today, a headline in a newspaper read that just because someone had a British passport, that was enough for a Middle Eastern Country to get alarmed.

I assume you have a bank account, and you vote,Gummie You buy things - groceries from the supermarket, clothes from various places, furniture from time to time, and you have grandchildren. Nothing exciting, just the usual boring life.

Your uneventful life is interesting to someone. The boring details can be sold to someone who makes a good living by knowing unexciting details about someone, and using them to their advantage.

Scammers and advertising/marketing people would be very interested to hear anything that would give them a clue to which bank you use, how you vote, which online clothes seller you use, whether you have grandchildren, what their names and ages are, and how much you spend on them.

The marketers would like to send you endless emails or texts with special discounts "just for you" with details of "sales" of stuff chosen to suit your taste and colour peferences, or your favourite meals, or children's items for exactly the same age and sex as your beloved grandchildren, or charming clothes that would look so great on them. If party politics in your area are aggressively conducted, you could find yourself harassed or threatened by someone who votes for the other lot.

The scammers could have a field day sending messages "from your bank" warning you of a dodgy transaction and giving you a number to ring to find out how to block it, which involves doing something which gives them the chance to access your account and do some dodgy stuff themselves. If your grandchildren are of age to be out and about after dark, you might receive a message from a (named) grandchild to say they have lost their phone and their wallet, so could you message them at their friends place (email address given) and send them money for a taxi home plus extra as friend has had to lend them money to buy a few drinks and a curry. Needless to say, while you worry, the grandchild will return safely with phone and wallet intact and know nothing of this.

I’ve just checked and Siri is turned off on both my phone and iPad. DD2 must have told me to turn it off in the past.

DH on the other hand has Alexa as he finds keyboards quite difficult these days. I loathe it but I have to admit it is very useful for him?

TV also has this weird stuff but I’m not using it. It feels like spying without my permission.

Gummie

Yes they are equipped to be helpful. Your smart phone does it as well. It knows where you go and it knows what you spend etc.

Frankly I don't give a stuff what they hear. My life is not exciting enough for anyone to be interested in what I'm doing.

Are your taxes 100%?

Are your friends and family squeaky clean in all areas?

Do you mention the wearabouts of grandchildren?

Are the details of all those commercial contracts you used to work on, of no value to anyone?

The list is endless of what someone may be interested in, in parts of your life and others. Past and present.

Did you say a non woke word in 2015?

Your health details may prove exciting to someone.