Google secretly records users' voices from their web and app activities, as well as conversations with Search, Assistant, and Maps to enhance its voice recognition tech. But, there's a way to stop this. A tech expert shared a tip to tweak your Google account settings in 'Data and Privacy', which supposedly prevents Google from tapping into your phone's microphone and camera.
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| Google saves the audio recordings from web and app activity, along with verbal interactions with Search, Assistant and Maps, which it uses 'to develop and improve its audio recognition technologies. © Provided by Daily Mail |
Tech entrepreneur Jeffrey Castillo shared a video on Instagram, showing how users can disable this feature by accessing the Google app and selecting 'Manage your Google account.
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| Users need to manage their Google account © Provided by Daily Mail |
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| Then select Data & Privacy at the top and then Web & Activity © Provided by Daily Mail |
Once you're in the 'Data and Privacy' tab, scroll to the 'History setting' and find the 'Web and App activity' section. There, you'll see a blue checkmark. Click on it and scroll down to find the 'Voice and Audio Activity' setting, which will also have a blue checkmark. Uncheck it to stop Google from listening.
Google's method of picking up conversations is like a verbal search engine. Each time it hears a 'Hey Google' command, it's like opening a web browser.
According to Google, when you turn off the 'Voice and Audio Activity' setting, your voice interactions won't be saved on their servers, even if you're logged in. However, previously saved recordings won't be deleted automatically. You can delete them yourself at any time.
Google asserts that it only listens to small parts of conversations to catch specific "wake words" it's programmed to recognize, enabling it to respond to voice commands. However, despite Google, Amazon, and Apple arguing that their assistant devices such as Alexa and Siri only listen for commands and marketing purposes, the truth is it remains a significant privacy issue.
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| Once you click in and scroll down, you should notice that the voice and audio activity setting has a blue checkmark- uncheck that to put a stop to Google listening in © Provided by Daily Mail |
If hackers get into your account or tap into your smart devices, they could listen to your phone recordings and steal info from Google's stored data. To protect yourself, make sure to download apps only from official stores to avoid malware. Review app permissions and turn off access to your phone's microphone for added security.
Norton, a cybersecurity app, recommends deleting your voice request history to prevent a memory bank of your conversations. Use a VPN to encrypt your data, making it inaccessible to third parties. Also, keep your software updated to stay ahead of potential vulnerabilities.
