If you believe it was ‘accidentally’, I’ve got a bridge in New York to sell you.
Google accidentally enables Home smart speakers to listen in to everyday house sounds
Google accidentally enabled a feature for Google Home users which let the smart speaker listen to the sounds of objects in your house.
A user on Reddit spotted a notification on his phone from his smart speaker which alerted him to the fact his smoke alarm was going off while he was cooking.
Usually, Google Home devices only respond to its active ‘wake words’ – such as “Ok, Google” or “Hey, Google” – but in this instance the speaker was listening out to a passive sound and make “my dumb smoke detectors smart,” the Reddit user wrote.
Other users reported getting alerts for the sound of glass breaking, popped bubble wrap, an air compressor tank, and other high-pitched noises that sound like alarms.
In a statement to Protocol, a Google spokesperson said that the feature was accidentally enabled through a recent software update which has now been reversed.
Suuuuure it has.