{"id":272,"date":"2020-09-03T07:36:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T06:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/?p=272"},"modified":"2020-09-03T07:36:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T06:36:09","slug":"three-privacy-controls-for-your-smart-home-device","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/three-privacy-controls-for-your-smart-home-device\/","title":{"rendered":"Three privacy controls for your smart-home device"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Turn-off the \u2018drop-in\u2019 app:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Alexa\u2019s \u2018drop-in\u2019 feature allows predetermined contacts to simply start speaking out of a device\u2019s speaker. No need for the device-owner to \u201canswer\u201d a call. Despite the user-friendly functionality, someone who \u2018drops-in\u2019 can hear everything happening in your home. Because you may want to discuss private matters out of friends\u2019 earshot, it\u2019s best to turn off your \u2018drop-in\u2019 feature unless you specifically want to use it.To turn it off, open the Alexa app, tap \u2018devices\u2019, select the intended device, then tap \u2018communications\u2019. This will enable you to flip the \u2018drop-in\u2019 switch to \u2018off\u2019 or to limit it to specific home devices.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Eliminate \u2018Hunches\u2019 from your suite of apps:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. The \u2018Hunches\u2019 tool allows the Alexa device to ask you follow-up questions after a device interaction. The algorithms then use your answers to make helpful suggestions for your home. For example, it may suggest a new way to use timers, or ask you if you\u2019d like to lock your doors before bed.However, the Hunches tool can be a nuisance when you\u2019re in the middle of a professional meeting, as you don\u2019t want to have to ask your smart-home device to please stop speaking.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      In order to halt functionality for the Hunches tool, open the Alexa app, tap \u2018more\u2019 and then \u2018settings\u2019, and then \u2018Hunches\u2019. Toggle the feature to off mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Turn off voice recording for research purposes:  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. The latest findings indicate that Amazon still automatically opts Alexa users into its program to use voice recordings for research purposes. Contractors for the company could indeed be listening to you, and in the past, they shared entertaining clips with one another (although the data was anonymized).To disable this feature, open the Alexa app, tap \u2018more\u2019 then \u2018settings,\u2019 then \u2018Alexa privacy\u2019. Afterwards, a new page will pop up, and you can tap \u2018Manage Your Alexa Data\u2019. Scroll down, and switch \u2018Use of Voice Recordings\u2019 to \u2018off\u2019 mode. Confirm the decision, per Amazon\u2019s next popup screen. Source<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        iTM covers all aspects of cybersecurity from Home cyber security managed solutions to automated, manage threat intelligence, forensic investigations and cyber security training. Our objective is to support organisations and consumers at every step of their cyber maturity journey. Contact Us<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Turn-off the \u2018drop-in\u2019 app: Alexa\u2019s \u2018drop-in\u2019 feature allows predetermined contacts to simply start speaking out of a device\u2019s speaker. No need for the device-owner to \u201canswer\u201d a call. Despite the user-friendly functionality, someone who \u2018drops-in\u2019 can hear everything happening in your home. Because you may want to discuss private matters out of friends\u2019 earshot, it\u2019s … <\/p>\n

        Continue reading “Three privacy controls for your smart-home device”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_integration_method":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_code":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[18,19,2,7,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cyber-security-best-practice","category-home-cyber-security","category-iot","category-privacy","category-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itminister.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}