News has surfaced and confirmed by the global tech giant Google, that its smart speakers mistakenly recorded a couple of conversations without a wake word.
Apparently, no wake word activation happened, and yet Google Nest Home devices integrated with Google Assistant smart speakers recorded nearby conversations. As this was a huge disrupt of privacy, a lot of people questioned the massive company.
Recently, an experiment was conducted which also confirmed that your smart speaker is always up – wake words or no wake words. It isn’t surprising to see a similar case crop up, yet again.
Google Admits Its Mistake !!
Google confirmed that such did happen, blaming it on a software glitch. They also admitted that it only happened with a couple of devices, and that the problem is been cleared.
The issue surged into the spotlight when a Reddit user confirmed that they were getting random notifications from Google Nest Home devices about glass breaking and smoke alarms.
The notifications were utterly random, and out of the blue. Google Nest Home devices notifying about such mishaps is normal, however, certainly not normal if the user isn’t subscribed to Nest Hub.
All the people affected by the same did not have Nest Hub subscriptions. Google later confessed that the feature functioned mistakenly due to a glitchy software update. It also said that it looked into and resolved the problem, and that Nest Hub users won’t be bugged by the notifications any further.
Is it Because of the Upcoming Nest Subscription Rates?
The coincidental fact to look for here is – even though Google did not reveal a timeline of the glitchy, it’s quite possible that it’s referring to the revamp in May of Nest Aware subscription.
The said update included a feature that would notify its users about fire or breaking of glasses. It basically drops a text anytime some mishap occurs. It also includes a simplified price structure and a ton of new features.
The update helped the smart home devices continually scan its surroundings for noise or problems, and notify for the same. The alerts that popped up for the Reddit user were akin to the ones sent by the update.
Google’s Skyrocketing Development in the Voice Tech Industry
Google recently announced a $450 million dollar investment on ADT, a home security provider company. The money shall be utilized in combining ADT and Google Nest home devices.
ADT will soon start selling Google Nest products, and each shall contribute around $150 million. They will be selling the upcoming range of combined products and use the money for its marketing, development, and training people to sell them.
This gives the global tech giant an upper hand over all others. And what can we say, the competition in the voice tech industry is only getting bigger.
