https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-workers-listening-tell-alexa-223439857.html
Or us shouting across the room, “What’s the bank password again?”
Apparently, new Sonos speakers sold at IKEA don’t have a microphone… big selling point to some. 
https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/08/sonos-partners-with-ikea-and-announces-99-speaker/
I recently read something which stated a ‘smart speaker’ recording was used to nab a criminal; I am certain my 'phone picks up snippets of conversations. Many a time I have been talking about something, and the next thing I know, I get pop-up ads for related products or services! Once night, H and I were having a conversation about a friend who’d suffered a stroke, the next time I opened my computer, there were pop-up ads asking if I needed stroke rehab!
And people tell me I’m paranoid when I say I don’t want things listening to me. I do not want one of those in my house.
I often wonder about that little camera on my computer… can’t tell me it’s not possible for HP to spy on me if it wants to…
I keep my webcamera covered with a post it note except when I want to have to filming. H said that’s what they did in his secure work facility.
Gates and Zukerberg do, too. I taped over mine the first time my company handed me a laptop with a camera. Absolutely no Echos, Dots, Alexas, Nests, etc. in our house, either.
Some newer laptops have a shutter to close off that camera.
I got rid of my Alexa speaker(s) when I read an article explaining how to see what conversations it recorded.
I checked, and it was way too many. None of which started with “Alexa”. It was creepy as heck.
I have no speakers that have listening as an option, but I do have my smartphone that CAN “hear” so there’s that. 
OK… there’s now a bandaid covering up the web camera lens on my laptop. It looks ridiculous, but…
@katliamom - I have seen many similar looking laptops.
My computer is so old it doesn’t have a camera. My iPad does however…
We don’t have external speakers, just what’s in the Dot, and it did pick up a handful of “text not available” messages. I could barely tell what they were saying so good luck to Amazon employees!
You can go into your Alexa account and turn off the option for this “customer improvement” function. It will then only listen to direct commands.
Isn’t the iPad camera on the back? Mine is covered by the iPad cover when I work. Never thought of it as a problem. Am I overlooking something?
NVM, I see there is a camera in the front also. But if I don’t have the camera set to that, can it still be used to spy on me? Now I’m paranoid.
P.S. I usually have my thumb covering it when I use my iPad, so I guess I’m ok.
I use a piece of tape but they make little sliding plastic covers for the front facing camera that is used by webcam apps.
https://www.amazon.com/Nano-Shield-Desktop-Macboook-Computer-Smartphone/dp/B073YSJDFH
That’s not really for Alexa, it’s for stuff like this: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/saltzman/2018/03/01/has-someone-hacked-your-webcam-heres-how-stop-cyber-snoopers/377676002/
However, I have disabled Alexa on my kindles, and I deny microphone permission to most apps on my phone, unless I really use that feature.
Apple guy told me you can disable the camera in the settings when he saw that I covered the camera with an Apple sticker. If you disable they can’t hear you either.
Clearly. the woman wouldn’t call out Alexa while singing in the shower or while being attacked sexually, as reported in the article.
@Iglooo Good grief, I didn’t think about them being able to listen in on me though the laptop… my paranoia is rising as this thread gets longer…
Have any of you ever looked at your search histories in Google? (The stuff you type in yourself, never mind mikes and cameras). The Google map timeline is another rather rich source of data.
Actually the map timeline has proved a godsend when I have forgotten to write down my miles in my little notebook.