HomePod How can I "listen" to a room w/ HomePod?

[Itinj24]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but they weren’t listening all the time. They were forwarding recordings (which some of you claim aren’t happening) to a company for quality control after “hey siri” was activated to try and better the recognition. Recordings that were activated ON DEVICE, not always and continually uploading to the cloud or Apple. Way different things. And guess what, they got in trouble for it. Even though it was only snippets of recording only after the device was activated on site - not the cloud.

A device can always listen, but not be storing, uploading or computing the information, only to be activated when the proper noise is heard.

So, no. Your points still don’t make sense.

Yes, they got in trouble and apologized. Doesn’t matter who they sent it to or who was listening to it. It’s their product and they’re responsible. The average consumer doesn’t care about anything else. The almighty Apple and HomePod that everyone thinks is so privacy oriented. If they can listen in on me, then I can listen in on a possible burglar in my home. Thanks for making my point.

Ah, now you change your tone from not always listening to in can always listen but only if it’s storing, uploading, computing…. You’re contradicting yourself and again, thanks for making point.

Please, come up with something of value or worth my while otherwise we’re done here. Thanks.

 

[Shanghaichica]

A device listening and replaying is recording. They are not two different things. Listening to a conversation that you are not a part of is the legal application of recording. So, you are wrong.

You don’t get to replay it. You just get to listen in.

 

[gwhizkids]

This thread isn't about legal application. It's about practical application, and to everybody else, a recording is when sound is captured to be played back. Nobody except you and I guess some lawyers use recording to mean real-time relay of sound.

Incorrect. This thread is about why Apple has not enabled “listening in” via a HomePod. I think that reason should be quite obvious.

Want to listen in to people surreptitiously? Get a different device.

 

[Itinj24]

Incorrect. This thread is about why Apple has not enabled “listening in” via a HomePod. I think that reason should be quite obvious.

Want to listen in to people surreptitiously? Get a different device.

It’s really not that obvious considering the iPhone and AirPods can already do this… and an iPhone is portable and a lot easier to hide than a HomePod. Sure, Live Listen was created under good intentions by Apple but I can literally hide my phone in my bedroom, turn the Live Listen feature on, put my AirPods in and listen to everything in the bedroom from the other side of the house. What makes that any different?

I’m curious to know what kind of Top Secret meetings you think we hold in our homes lol.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Incorrect. This thread is about why Apple has not enabled “listening in” via a HomePod. I think that reason should be quite obvious.

Want to listen in to people surreptitiously? Get a different device.

So are we to berate all devices that can listen such as baby monitors? What laws are being broken when you use a baby monitor in your own house?

I think we are just trying to come up with reasons why a feature doesn’t exist on an Apple device which already exists on competing devices.

 

[missingar]

Incorrect. This thread is about why Apple has not enabled “listening in” via a HomePod. I think that reason should be quite obvious.

Want to listen in to people surreptitiously? Get a different device.

Well damn, I guess I better also throw my security cameras and video doorbells in the trash because i'm breaking the law having them! All they do is light up when they're recording (video and audio, FOR PLAYBACK *gasp*) and apparently this is ILLEGAL!

 

[JungleNYC]

Intruders have a right to privacy too.

Kidding of course but I think being able to use your own HomePod in your own home to tap into the microphone and listen in would be a great idea and I personally don’t need it (two large dogs, cameras everywhere). It already uses the microphone for smoke alarm detection and sends a notification.

Unfortunately you can’t but you could at least try to scare them off using intercom and some choice words.

Right! …you hear someone poking around and you can send them a little message… as the cops are on the way 😉

 

[JungleNYC]

Install a camera, it will pick up the sound and video if you are worried about security. Or you could get a baby monitor. Even if HomePod listened, how would you access it with iPhone?

Yup. Obviously every security cam these days has this ability. I was just thinking it would be an easy feature to include, since it essentially already does that anyway, and would not defy any privacy concerns. We have security… but this would still be a welcome addition.

 

[JungleNYC]

I agree. It’s already being used for smoke alarm detection so it already must be always listening. I fail to see how this is a privacy issue in your own home.

this is exactly my POV: this is LOCAL. It's not recorded. Users/owners would have to initiate the feature… and HomePod already listens (extremely well I might add), and it also already plays sounds: the ability to function as a fancy 2-way intercom in my own home doesn't seem like a stretch, or a privacy violation at all.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Well damn, I guess I better also throw my security cameras and video doorbells in the trash because i'm breaking the law having them! All they do is light up when they're recording (video and audio, FOR PLAYBACK *gasp*) and apparently this is ILLEGAL!

Since as you describe the devices "light up when they're recording" they are notifying people that said recording is going on. Those devices are legal partly because they are obvious (example, a Ring door bell that has alerts such as a light coming on). So you can unlock the caps lock, you don't need to throw out your legally installed video cameras.

 

[gwhizkids]

Well damn, I guess I better also throw my security cameras and video doorbells in the trash because i'm breaking the law having them! All they do is light up when they're recording (video and audio, FOR PLAYBACK *gasp*) and apparently this is ILLEGAL!

Nice job attempting to conflate “illegal” with “privacy things which Apple would rather not wade into”.

In most cases, most of the devices you and others have listed are perfectly legal, when used legally. Hide one in your guest bedroom when you have guests staying there, and what is legal becomes potentially illegal.

But here, what we’ve been saying is that although the HomePod could have eavesdropping capabilities, Apple has chosen not to enable those capabilities given their privacy emphasis. And that’s not likely to change.

 

[missingar]

Since as you describe the devices "light up when they're recording" they are notifying people that said recording is going on. Those devices are legal partly because they are obvious (example, a Ring door bell that has alerts such as a light coming on). So you can unlock the caps lock, you don't need to throw out your legally installed video cameras.

Re-read the thread and catch up. Then you will understand why I wrote that.

 

[JungleNYC]

You don’t get to replay it. You just get to listen in.

Yup. That's great. I wouldn't expect recording capabilities. It's not a security system, it's a smart speaker 😎

 

[JungleNYC]

Incorrect. This thread is about why Apple has not enabled “listening in” via a HomePod. I think that reason should be quite obvious.

Want to listen in to people surreptitiously? Get a different device.

…then why, in your estimation, would it be "legal" for a different device, but not legal for HomePod?

 

[gwhizkids]

…then why, in your estimation, would it be "legal" for a different device, but not legal for HomePod?

I never said it was illegal per se (though it could be employed illegally). My point (and it’s my only point) is that Apple hasn’t done this likely because it is not sufficiently privacy oriented.

It’s obvious technically possible. It’s not necessarily illegal. But it might lead to invasions of privacy and Apple stays away from those types of situations.

End of story.