What will happen with Hey Disney! now? (Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon)

[snacks]

Already flight ticket prices are customized based on your specific computer history/cookies/profile. another person looking at the same flight will be seeing a different price.

Then why, when I'm booking a trip with friends, and each person buys their own ticket, while at their own home on their own device, each logged into their own airline account (profile), why do we all pay the same price?

 

[LAS2AMS]

The issue isn't Amazon recording what you say directly to Hey Disney--it's Amazon listening to what you're saying in your room, even when you're not addressing Hey Disney. Everyone who has an Alexa knows that she's "listening" at all times--at the very least, listening for her name to be mentioned (although she does tend to butt in even when it wasn't). We've all had the experience of having a conversation with someone in person (not attempting to use Alexa/our phones), in which we mention some very specific thing that we don't normally talk about, and immediately afterwards see an ad for that thing on our phone or computer. When tech companies stop pulling shady moves like that, maybe we'll trust them more. Trust isn't given, it's earned.

This thread is serving a useful purpose--it's alerting people to an announced change in Amazon's policy. From there, people can choose how they want to respond.

The device saves and sends recordings when you activate it f(Alexa). It does not save/ send recordings of what it hears 24/7. Only a tiny. Tiny fraction of 1% of what it records is ever listened to by other parties - completely anonymously.

There’s way too much hysteria on this. Not surprising that most users on here have called the device useless and one suggested indirectly thar.I must work for Amazon to support it.

Reminds me of my 79yo dad who complains relentlessly about being forced to receive his SS check through direct deposit, and having to pay bills through direct debit and not checks, how the world is coming to an end, etc. people fear what they don’t understand.

 

[Disney Bobby]

You don't truly understand it unless you have done a complete code review of the software and understand the hardware involved. You are just going by what they say and trusting their word. There are examples of company employees or government agencies using popular consumer devices to spy. Some devices are also susceptible to being hacked to allow spying. Having a recording device or camera in your home is a risk. That's a fact. The only thing in dispute is how big of a risk. Some of it is overblown, but it's not "direct deposit is the devil" level paranoia to have concerns about the security of devices that can see and hear you in the privacy of your home.

 

[Chuck S]

Shhhh....don't tell them that Magic Bands signals are capable of tracking your movements and locations even if you don't tap into attractions. You just thought those interactive statues were there for fun.

 

[disneyseniors]

I've lost track of the times our family has had a conversation about something and then started seeing Google ads about it pop up on our devices a short time later. And I am not talking about looking something up online triggering a pop up ad, but a private conversation in our home. We have no Alexa or Echo type devices in our home - just cell phones, lap tops, and PC's.

I've told this story on here before, but it bears repeating. A couple of years ago we were staying in a Copper Creek 2BR unit. The hairdryer in the master bath was basically useless - it had very little power. Our son was staying in the 2nd BR and never uses a hairdryer. I walked into the living room and told him I was swapping out hairdryers as ours didn't work very well.

A short time later there was a knock on the door. A CM asked if we needed anything. I told him, no we're good. He then asked me if I was sure, and whether there was something wrong in our bathroom. I thanked him, but again told him we were fine and he finally left. I turned around and told my son to unplug the Hey Disney right now!

They have always been listening. We aren't currently plotting anything nefarious (that I know of anyway ), so I don't lose any sleep over it. Still, it's a bit creepy to think about.

It freaks me out when that happens. But if you have devices you have to live with it, I guess.

Something really creepy happened to me while I was using my laptop. The laptop has a camera on the open and close part. I never thought about it until one day I was on the laptop and someone typed a message to me asking if they could look through my camera!!!!!! I was shocked and freaked out. So, I immediately taped that camera site up with blue painters tape.
How can someone ask to do that? So freaky.

 

[LAS2AMS]

You don't truly understand it unless you have done a complete code review of the software and understand the hardware involved. You are just going by what they say and trusting their word. There are examples of company employees or government agencies using popular consumer devices to spy. Some devices are also susceptible to being hacked to allow spying. Having a recording device or camera in your home is a risk. That's a fact. The only thing in dispute is how big of a risk. Some of it is overblown, but it's not "direct deposit is the devil" level paranoia to have concerns about the security of devices that can see and hear you in the privacy of your home.

Enough with the conspiracy tneories. Amazon has lost tens of billions on Alexa. They have better things to do than to spy on your conversations asking for an extra bar of soap.

 

[Gabby01]

Enough with the conspiracy tneories. Amazon has lost tens of billions on Alexa. They have better things to do than to spy on your conversations asking for an extra bar of soap.

Ever read Permanent Record? Snowden talks about how NSA employees would sift through Americans' text messages, and any time they found a nude photograph, they'd call everyone over to look.

I'm not saying that Amazon employees do anything similar (I have no idea) . . . but do you really want to risk it?

 

[Disney Bobby]

Enough with the conspiracy tneories. Amazon has lost tens of billions on Alexa. They have better things to do than to spy on your conversations asking for an extra bar of soap.

Tell that to the folks that an ADT employee plead guilty to spying on. Wikileaks exposed that even the government was using malware to spy through cells phones and smart TV. Vizio collected viewing data from their TV owners and shared it without their consent. Cost them a lot of money. The federal government does even allow some popular brands of security cameras and other telecom equipment to be used in their facilities due to the fact that they could be used by the owners in foreign countries to spy. It's not just about Amazon having better things to do.

And I certainly wouldn't trust a device that is left in a room with visitors coming and going all the time. Just about any device on the internet can be hacked from another continent. Physical access to a device usually makes it even easier. I would unplug immediately and never give it any personal/financial info.

But, you do you. What's the worst that could happen?

 

[fatmanatee]

It speaks volumes that practically nobody in this thread is concerned about the invasion of privacy going on in Washington at the moment, but is concerned about Amazon recording them ‘Hey Alexa, what time are the fireworks tonight?’

Interesting assumption. Didn’t think I would need to remind you that this is a Disney news and rumors thread and other political talk is explicitly banned, there is a separate section of the forum for that.

 

[NickC]

.... there is a separate section of the forum for that.

There's a section on the forum for discussing politics? Sounds awful.
I love the no politics rule. Though, sometimes it gets ignored.
And so that I have at least a small contribution to the topic at hand...I don't really love the Alexa products. I have a Nest thermostat and deadbolt. I can access them on my phone, but never do.

 

[Brian Noble]

It is worth thinking about how one might reduce one's exposure to surveillance capitalism.

For example, I've been using Duck Duck Go as my default search engine, and Firefox as my general-purpose browser outside of iOS (where everything is Safari at the core). I'm considering switching to Kagi as my search engine. It is paid, not "free", but that's because it does not make money by advertising (translation: it does not make money by capturing and monetizing my attention). This Verge article gives a pretty good overview:

https://www.theverge.com/web/631636/kagi-review-best-search-engine

I am not active on any ad-driven social media platforms, though I do infrequently check Instragram (my kids post there). I also have a browsing account on Blue Sky, which (for the moment) is trying to make a go of it by selling paid add-ons rather than being ad supported.

If given the choice between an ad-free experience and an advertising-supported one, I choose the former. This doesn't actually avoid the surveillance part of surveillance capitalism, but at least it is less annoying. I avoid shopping on Amazon (or any other aggregated sales platform), instead primarily order from the company directly. (This avoids the name-brand knockoff problem too.) I still use the Kindle ecosystem for my library e-books, but use Kobo for books I purchase. Getting those books onto my kindle is a bit of a pain, but doable. When my kindle dies, I will switch to a Kobo reader. I will have to "re-buy" a few books then, but there aren't many I re-read over and over again.

I do use a bunch of stuff in the Apple ecosystem---including their "smart" speakers, News aggregator, etc. That's still a little bit problematic, because Apple's reputation for privacy exceeds the reality. I will have to re-think that eventually, but for now I can live with it.

There are some bigger questions about government-sponsored surveillance, and they are worth thinking and talking about. That's another discussion for another board.

 

[atthebeachclub]

It is totally not crazy to want a modicum of privacy or at least some control of their personal information. Why would you belittle people who want that?

Amazon’s interest in your information does not come from a benevolent place. Why give your personal info away to this private company for free?

At least when I choose to give my private info to Disney, I know what I am getting in return. And for now, I am ok with that swap. But if things change, my feelings may also change.

What’s so funny @MikeNamez?

 

[Gabby01]

What’s so funny @MikeNamez?

I assume it's a nervous laugh.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Interesting assumption. Didn’t think I would need to remind you that this is a Disney news and rumors thread and other political talk is explicitly banned, there is a separate section of the forum for that.

I’m exiting the discussion here, but I’m pointing out facts no politics. Thanks for singling me out when early I posted what Amazon says it does with the data collected and it’s a plethora of users claiming we shouldn’t trust them because we know what the Deep States does.

 

[J-Dog]

Meh. I say plenty of non-politically-correct things in my own house, with Alexa potentially listening. So far, I haven't had any Men-in-Black or other covert operators repel down from helicopters and break through my windows to take me away to a CIA black site. Yet.

 

[LAS2AMS]

.

 

[gottalovepluto]

...I've told this story on here before, but it bears repeating. A couple of years ago we were staying in a Copper Creek 2BR unit. The hairdryer in the master bath was basically useless - it had very little power. Our son was staying in the 2nd BR and never uses a hairdryer. I walked into the living room and told him I was swapping out hairdryers as ours didn't work very well.

A short time later there was a knock on the door. A CM asked if we needed anything. I told him, no we're good. He then asked me if I was sure, and whether there was something wrong in our bathroom. I thanked him, but again told him we were fine and he finally left. I turned around and told my son to unplug the Hey Disney right now!...

Disney can barely keep up with real requests much less listen in on every room for conversations that might involve them, like I'm dying lol. What actually would have happened is a prior occupant complained and Disney finally got around to addressing it during your trip. Of course they didn't want to straight up say "we knowingly gave you a crap hairdryer" so he was trying to replace it without admitting the screw up. Sheer dumb luck the timing.

I get those who want to unplug it, but lets keep out the tinfoil hat nonsense.

 

[JayMass]

Hmm. I'm surprised by this news only because I thought Amazon was already getting all this info, didn't know they weren't.

 

[Disney Bobby]

I’m pointing out facts, not politics. Your privacy is being increasingly breached and the biggest concern is that Amazon has access to recordings of you (you understood, not you) asking ‘hey Disney, set an alarm for 6am.’

Who said this was their biggest concern?

 

[atthebeachclub]

Who said this was their biggest concern?

Yes. Nobody in here said it was their biggest OR their only concern, except the one person here using ad hominem fallacies against anyone who disagrees with them.

We get it. You like Amazon. That doesn’t make others who disagree dumb or uneducated.