Home assistant devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo Help us with everything from remembering where we left our phones to turning off the bedroom lights at night. But these devices have raised Privacy concerns Because of the audio logs, they are kept while waiting for your command.
To protect your privacy, a startup called MSCHF has developed an audio jammer called Alexagate. MSCHF, a company that struggles with "structured chaos", according to a report by Business Insider, has a range of viral and cynical products such as toaster-shaped bath bombs and sneakers filled with holy water.
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Alexagate is a cap that fits over your Alexa Echo and uses pulsed ultrasound to disrupt the microphone. The tool can be turned on and off so you can use your Alexa Echo if you want. Simply clap or tap the device three times to turn it on. Repeat to turn it off.
Since Alexagate doesn't interfere with the Echo's speakers, you can still turn it on and listen to music. MSCHF recommends turning Alexagate off if you want to listen to music for an extended period of time.
According to Amazon, customers who are concerned about data protection can also simply switch off the microphone of an Alexa device. You know that it turns off when a red light illuminates on the device. According to Amazon, if the microphone is switched off, your device will not be able to stream audio to the cloud, even if you say the wake-up word you chose.
Amazon also has an automatic delete function that can be used to delete voice recordings that are older than three or 18 months and are deleted continuously. Users can also say "Alexa, delete what I just said" and "Alexa, delete what I said today" to delete selected voice data. For further clarification, the company also referred to the frequently asked questions about the data protection of its devices.
Alexagate works with the Amazon Echo Dot of the first, second and third generation, the Echo Plus of the second generation and the Echo of the first and third generation. The device costs $ 99 on the MSCHF website.
