First Click: Do you trust Google to always be listening inside your Home?

May 20th, 2016

57

I want privacy. Deep down I know it’s important, so much so that on my home continent of Europe it’s a fundamental right. I’m just not very good at safeguarding it.

A year ago, right after Google I/O 2015, I was struggling with the idea of migrating to the just-announced Google Photos in exchange for “free” unlimited storage. I use scare quotes because I’m fully aware that I’m the product in this transaction. Nevertheless, I tested it for a few months, slowly adding more and more photos until I eventually pulled the trigger and committed to the service — as have 200 million other people.

Now, thanks to Google I/O 2016, I’m faced with a new conundrum: Google Home.

Do I really trust Google enough to place its data-gathering appliance in my living room, where it’ll always be on and always be listening?

I still have my reservations with Google Photos, but the service is so damn good compared to everything else in its class that I’m willing to risk exposure in exchange for the value I receive. After all, the risk is theoretical, but the benefit of using the service is real. It’s just that now I’m at Google’s mercy to secure my photos from hacks, and to not use them, or the data it gleans, in nefarious ways. I'm sure I'll rationalize the purchase of an AI-driven personal assistant in the same way.

You may argue that Android and iOS phones are already listening, patiently waiting for an "Okay, Google" or "Hey, Siri" to kick into action. But phones are personal and not equipped with powerful microphone arrays and far-field voice recognition technology. While my phone can pick up my voice when it’s nearby and not inside my pocket or bag, Google Home, or Amazon’s Echo for that matter, can pick up conversations from anywhere in the room, even with my wife and kids. And once hooked, the companies want us to place their mics in every room of the house. It all sounds so ominous.

Right now it’s only Amazon and Google who've built such sophisticated personal assistants for the home. But Microsoft’s Kinect is also listening, as are Samsung TVs. And how long before Apple and Microsoft offer their own personal assistants for Siri and Cortana? Hell, even Sonos is looking to get in on the action.

Personally, I think I'll wait to see what Apple and Sonos do since I'm already living inside that ecosystem. But what about you? When the day comes that you willingly place internet-attached microphones into every room of the house? Which company will you trust with the responsibility?

Poll
What company do you trust to always be listening inside your home?
Thank you for your vote
0 total votes

Five stories to start your day



  1. Aston Martin's most beautiful car in years is the Vanquish Zagato

    Five years ago, Aston Martin teamed up with Italian design house Zagato to make one of the most beautiful cars of the last quarter century, the Vantage-based V12 Zagato. The 510-horsepower coupe —...

  2. The 8 biggest new features in Android N

    Android N may not yet have a name, but we already know a lot about it. Google has been iterating on its ubiquitous mobile OS far more publicly than usual, issuing a couple of developer preview...

  3. Apple just revealed the future of its retail stores

    In downtown San Francisco, situated across the street from the city's iconic Union Square Park, Apple's newest vision for retail is close to being realized. The new store, which opens this...

  4. This six minute short film plunges you into an augmented reality hellscape

    "What if advertising, but too much?" That's often the formula for short films about augmented reality. (Thanks to The Verge's VR expert Adi Robertson for that one-liner.) But this new entry into...

  5. Hubble just captured one of the coolest photos of Mars ever taken

    A week ago, astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to take this striking image of the Red Planet as it was 50 million miles away from Earth. The photo shows Mars' rusty landscape, its polar...

Always On of the day

Reticulating poll splines...

Loading comments...