Smart speakers, such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to interact with our digital world. But recent reports have raised privacy concerns about smart speakers ‘eavesdropping’ on conversations.
Google Home, in particular, is prone to false activations, picking up snippets of conversation and acting accordingly—even when a user doesn’t actively invoke its name. However, Google has a feature that can help address this issue.
The Google Home sensitivity slider, found within Google Home’s settings, lets you adjust the microphone’s sensitivity. By default, the microphone is set to a mid-level sensitivity. You can lower the sensitivity if you’re having false activations, or increase it if you’re having trouble initiating interactions with the voice assistant.
The Google Home sensitivity slider can be found in the settings menu and is easily adjusted to give you more privacy. When using the slider, it’s important to find a balance between convenience and privacy. Setting the slider all the way to the bottom may protect you from false activations, but it may also inhibit you from activating your smart speaker when you want to interact with it.
Google also offers a Guest Mode feature. This feature, also in the settings menu, allows you to control who can use your Google Home device by blocking unrecognized voices. By enabling Guest Mode, your device won’t be able to hear any voice other than your own, ensuring your conversations remain private.
Overall, Google Home is a powerful device that can be a great addition to your home. However, you should be aware of its potential privacy issues, and be sure to enable the sensitivity slider and Guest Mode to protect your conversations. With both features enabled, you can rest assured that your conversations won’t be overheard by your Google Home device.