my family is moving into a much bigger house than we used to have. we use amazon echos as an intercom system through the announcement feature. because our house is bigger, i’m being forced to get one myself for my room. i haven’t needed one for years because i use their app on my phone and i can see their announcements as a notification and i can also kill off most of its tracking by DNS. unfortunately my parents don’t understand this and are forcing me to get one. what can i do to limit its tracking?

  • waywardninja@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    If not using it for Alexa connectivity, why not just get an actual intercom? A pair is like 30 bucks on Amazon, no Internet required.

    Or “hey Alexa, order an intercom system on my mom’s account”

    Isn’t there an eavesdropping function on Alexa… Maybe it’s actually less communication and more checking in on what you’re doing (not to increase your paranoia)

    • yoshisaur@lemm.eeOP
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      2 months ago

      my parents and siblings enjoy the convenience of alexas and the fact that they can play music. i’ve tried suggesting an actual intercom system and they’re against it

      • waywardninja@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        As a parent, if my kid said “I don’t want to be tracked, I’m concerned about my privacy”, I’d get an intercom for everyone in the house and let the Alexa be opt in. Sounds like playing music using Alexa isn’t a game changer for you. What does it matter anyway, what if you like headphones better, the Alexa stuff isn’t mandatory for playing/listening to music.

    • Kerensky1101@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I hate the drop in feature that alexa devices have. You can drop into any device in your home and no one had to accept. Essentially you can listen in without the other person knowing. If it had some sort of announcement that smoothie device was dropping in and it was possible to accept our decline that would be different.