Taping my webcam led to my smart speaker ratting me out

I was sticking a piece of tape over my laptop camera to stop it from watching me. My elbow hit the voice assistant on the desk, and it lit up. It recorded me saying 'stupid thing' a few times. Next day, my social media feed was full of ads for camera covers and anger management. It's like my own house is snitching on me to advertisers. How can a simple home fix turn into a data leak? I guess even DIY privacy steps can get messed up by connected stuff.

4 comments

4 Comments

joelburns1mo ago

My smart speaker picks up random phrases way too often.

jamie_webb671mo ago

Mine does that too, @joelburns. I'll be talking about totally normal stuff and it'll light up, saving a note of complete nonsense. Last week it decided I must have said "order more cat food" during a football game (I don't even have a cat).

bettym111mo ago

My bathroom speaker saved "buy 20 avocados" during a shower.

nguyen.angela20d ago

My Echo Dot caught "refill printer ink" from a cooking show.