Anyone else refuse to have an Alexa

[Anonymous]

Yes I don't have Alexa, don't need any more devices to spy on me and track my data.

I can see how it would be useful for older or disabled people.

[Anonymous]

everyone is being tracked and constantly so if you have a phone, use the internet or any app. Alexa /Siri/etc. are not doing anything more than what you've already and unknowingly experienced. so for everyone who posted and said they don't want to be tracked, guess what, your digital footprint is probably quite extensive. so unless you're totally off the grid, you and your families are captured in so many data nets already.

The aspect of listening though is real - these companies are totally hearing and recording everything that gets picked up by the devices.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We don't use Alexa or Siri for this very reason.

[Anonymous]

https://gizmodo.com/amazon-really-doesn-t-give-a-shit-huh-1836912275/amp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alexa is not always listening. The blue ring comes on when it hears the wake word, rightly or wrongly. You can log into the app and see the conversations that Alexa picks up or records

How does it hear the wake word if it's not already listening?

It always has to be listening to hear the same word. As per Wired magazine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alexa is not always listening. The blue ring comes on when it hears the wake word, rightly or wrongly. You can log into the app and see the conversations that Alexa picks up or records

How does it hear the wake word if it's not already listening?

It always has to be listening to hear the same word. As per Wired magazine.

Wake word not same word...lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I refuse. It does spy on you.

+1

[Anonymous]

I don't suppose you paranoids have a cell phone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have one, but I don't feel the need to make a spectacle of myself. No one has ever pushed one on me or even offered one to me or asked why I don't have one, so no need to REFUSE one.

I just...don't have one, I don't care who chooses to have one, it's not a big deal.

The perfect reply. Amazon is not pushing these on you so you don't need to refuse it. Just don't own one.

Do you have a Fire stick? Same thing.

NP here, how is it that same?

Wondering this, too. How is firestick the same? Was given one and have the voice activation turned off.

[Anonymous]

Of course. They are spy-capable devices. I don't NEED such a device.

I do need my smartphone, and even that is capable of listening to everything in its vicinity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have one, but I don't feel the need to make a spectacle of myself. No one has ever pushed one on me or even offered one to me or asked why I don't have one, so no need to REFUSE one.

I just...don't have one, I don't care who chooses to have one, it's not a big deal.

+1. I just don’t have the need for it, like for many other potential things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Of course. They are spy-capable devices. I don't NEED such a device.

I do need my smartphone, and even that is capable of listening to everything in its vicinity.

Not only capable but has been done.

https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/wjbzzy/your-phone-is-listening-and-its-not-paranoia

[Anonymous]

I love it in the kitchen. I use it as a timer, to play NPR and music, call up facts, check weather, etc. My mom shares a lot of recipes with me that use the Imperial measuring system and I use it to ask, for example, how many cups are in a pint, etc.

I also like that my kids can listen to audiobooks without having to be on a screen-based device.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love it in the kitchen. I use it as a timer, to play NPR and music, call up facts, check weather, etc. My mom shares a lot of recipes with me that use the Imperial measuring system and I use it to ask, for example, how many cups are in a pint, etc.

I also like that my kids can listen to audiobooks without having to be on a screen-based device.

These responses are interesting to me. I have no interest in an Alexa, somewhat for the creepiness factor but mostly because everything people say it does for them, I already do in other ways and function just fine. I don't see why Alexa is so revolutionary, frankly. Haven't people been doing all of this forever with smartphones or just notepads?

I use my phone or my laptop for everything this PP mentioned (except a timer -- for cooking I use the stove timer and for everything else I use my $15 casio watch). My house is small and we have one set of speakers in the living room, not bluetooth or anything, just hooked up the old fashioned way to a stereo that has a CD player and an ipod doc. From the living room you can hear the music perfectly well in the dining room, kitchen, and side room, which is the extent of the first floor. If you turn it up a bit you can hear it upstairs too. I have a pad of paper in the kitchen for writing grocery lists as items are needed. We don't have smart anything in the house except our phones and a Firestick, which is used only for the TV. The thermostat has its own timer if we want to use that, which we usually don't bother with; and there is no way in hell I'm putting a digital lock on my front door. And if I want to yell something to my kids upstairs I can do that without benefit of a device.

My SIL has an Alexa in a space even smaller than ours (apartment, not house) and she never uses it except when we come over -- and that's because my kids love to play with it. I just don't see the point.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I won’t get one either.