Smart speaker Coverage

WRAL 5 On Your Side: Consumer Reports on the top gifts for techies this holiday season

Consumer Reports rounded up a few tech gifts for your holiday shopping list.

Keely Arthur, WRAL consumer reporter

5 On Your Side: Make the most of your smart speakers

Monica shows you some of the extra features you can use from your home smart speaker.

Monica Laliberte, WRAL executive producer/5 on Your Side reporter

Google snooping as you sleep? New device can - with your permission

Google's next internet-connected home device will test whether consumers trust the company enough to let it snoop on their sleep.

Alexa risk: Be careful of malicious coders who target your privacy, NCSU study warns

“When people use Alexa to play games or seek information, they often think they’re interacting only with Amazon,” says Anupam DasY of NCSU. “But a lot of the applications they are interacting with were created by third parties, and we’ve identified several flaws in the current vetting process that could allow those third parties to gain access to users’ personal or private information.”

Doorbell camera paired with speaker can help you social distance

Visit virutally using your doorbell camera paired with a smart speaker.

Video doorbells allow for socially distant visits

Global sales of video doorbells are predicted to grow to $1.4 billion by 2023.

Monica Laliberte, WRAL executive producer/5 on Your Side reporter

Beware of the smart device: Ways to stay private and safe

Did someone invite a spy into your home over the holidays? Maybe so, if a friend or family member gave you a voice-controlled speaker or some other smart device.

5 On Your Side: How to turn off Alexa during private conversations

You probably already know that smart speakers are listening to our conversations -- but did you know some speakers make those conversations available to company staff?

Alexa, stop listening to my private conversations

Amazon, Apple and Google have all said they take steps to protect user privacy, but all three also confirmed to Consumer Report they have teams listening to recordings of people using their voice commands and interfaces.

Monica Laliberte, WRAL executive producer/consumer reporter

Study: Smart speakers are energy efficient but TV voice controls could gobble up watts

Ever wonder how much energy is consumed by the almost 100 million new smart speakers installed in America’s homes, such as the Amazon Echo and the video-streaming devices hooked up to our televisions? There’s good news and bad news, according to a new study.

How to keep your smart devices safe

Millions of people bought Amazon Echo devices, Ring doorbells, and security cameras during the recent Amazon Prime Day 2019.

Smart speakers could detect heart attacks with new tool

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new tool that can monitor and detect cardiac arrest. The algorithm lets a smart speaker - like Google Home or Amazon Alexa - or smartphone listen for the gasping sound of agonal breathing, which occurs about 50 percent of the time during cardiac arrest. The app would then issue a warning, with a chance to cancel, before calling 911 for help.

Talking Tech: Alexa may save your life

New research shows that smart speakers may help people in the throes of health emergencies.

Alexa – am I having a heart attack? Smart speakers could detect cardiac arrest

<p>Alexa or another smart speaker can hear you as users well know – but did you know they can hear your breathing and perhaps detect a heart attack?</p>

Hey, Alexa - why won't you erase what my kids tell you? Parents upset, go to FTC

Advocates for children say the kids' version of Amazon's Alexa won't forget what children tell it, even after parents try to delete the conversations. For that and other alleged privacy flaws they found while testing the service, they're now asking the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to investigate whether it violates children's privacy laws.

'Voice first world' nears: Smart devices + artificial intelligence = end of touch

Have you ever asked Alexa what the weather was going to be like so you could plan what you wear to work? Have you asked Siri to find you the closest Chinese restaurant? If so, you have entered what Amazon calls the "voice first world."