Total surrender of privacy.

[Lummy]

While Amazon’s smart-speaker competitors, Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc., are striving to grow their user base by luring individual buyers with more elegant or higher-quality products, Amazon has figured out a way to get into millions of homes without consumers ever having to choose its hardware and services in the first place. Amazon’s Alexa Smart Properties team, a little known part of its Alexa division, is working on partnerships with homebuilders, property managers and hoteliers to push millions of Alexa smart speakers into domiciles all across the U.S.

Amazon is hoping to find a new way to build market share by offering discounted hardware, customized software and new ways for property managers to harvest and use data.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazons...do-11559361605

And then users become hostages and game pieces.

I predict this isn't going to fly, not for long if it does.

[Common]

Everytime a person buys and uses a new piece of technology they give more of their privacy away. Now some have speakers in their home that they talk to and everyone on the other end is listening and some worry about nasa reading your texts, cant get any personal than what you are doing in your own home.

It seems like yesterday that every american of any age protected their social security number like it was life and death.
You were told never give your social security number to anyone for any reason. Needless to say today your SS number is as private as anything else we say or do. How many people have every single credit card number with security code listed on Paypal and amazon etc etc

We gave our privacy away gleefully Oh and lets not forget that smartphone thats glued to most everyones ass

[Captain Obvious]

Everytime a person buys and uses a new piece of technology they give more of their privacy away. Now some have speakers in their home that they talk to and everyone on the other end is listening and some worry about nasa reading your texts, cant get any personal than what you are doing in your own home.

It seems like yesterday that every american of any age protected their social security number like it was life and death.
You were told never give your social security number to anyone for any reason. Needless to say today your SS number is as private as anything else we say or do. How many people have every single credit card number with security code listed on Paypal and amazon etc etc

We gave our privacy away gleefully Oh and lets not forget that smartphone thats glued to most everyones ass

Exactly

[Standing Wolf]

And then users become hostages and game pieces.

I predict this isn't going to fly, not for long if it does.

If you don't want one in your home or hotel room, have it removed or unplug the thing. Problem solved.

[Common]

If you don't want one in your home or hotel room, have it removed or unplug the thing. Problem solved.

id be worried if it had a battery backup stashed inside

[Standing Wolf]

Everytime a person buys and uses a new piece of technology they give more of their privacy away. Now some have speakers in their home that they talk to and everyone on the other end is listening and some worry about nasa reading your texts, cant get any personal than what you are doing in your own home.

It seems like yesterday that every american of any age protected their social security number like it was life and death.
You were told never give your social security number to anyone for any reason. Needless to say today your SS number is as private as anything else we say or do. How many people have every single credit card number with security code listed on Paypal and amazon etc etc

We gave our privacy away gleefully Oh and lets not forget that smartphone thats glued to most everyones ass

When it comes to Social Security numbers, it's true - originally it was not even lawful to require the submission of those numbers for any other purpose. Now every time you open a bank account, go to a new doctor's office or apply for a credit card, you have to give them that number or, in many cases, they won't even talk to you.

Military members used to be assigned a unique "serial number", but since 1974 the military has used Social Security numbers. (That's what they say, but I enlisted in 1972 and I know for a fact they were using SS#s then.) I remember once coming across a multi-page listing of everyone in my squadron, over three hundred people, with Social Security/Service numbers and other personal information. It was just floating around for anyone to see.

Yes, we give our privacy, our information and in some cases our very identities away, but companies frequently give it away, too. Years ago I received a bill from Sprint for cellphone service, more than a hundred dollars, which was a surprise to me since I didn't yet have a cellphone. When I called to inform them of this little fact, the Customer Service person sounded properly concerned and sympathetic and told me that someone from their "investigations" department would be contacting me.

A week later, their "investigations" department - which turned out to be their Collections office - called and told me that I needed to pay the bill and file a police report. When I pointed out that I didn't owe them any money, and that they had apparently given away my identity to someone on the basis of their knowing my home address and Social Security number, the Collections guy tried to make it out to be MY fault for "letting somebody find out your Social Security number". I laughed and told him that I could no doubt find out HIS Social Security number with very little effort, despite my not being either a detective or a crook. I also advised him - and subsequently had to advise higher-ups at Sprint - that THEY were the victims, not me, so if anyone needed to file a police report it was them.

Companies, like cellphone service providers and others, are so eager for a larger share of the market dollar that they will make it as easy as possible to open an account with them. Then when they - predictably - get defrauded, they go after the individual whose identity THEY, in effect, gave away. I liken it to my walking into a supermarket, filling my cart with groceries, and then telling the cashier, "Oh, I forgot my wallet. But here's my Social Security number and home address. I'll send you a check or stop by later to pay for these." Only I give them YOUR information. A week goes by and the store manager calls you and asks, "When are you going to pay for those groceries?" You say you don't owe his store any money, have never even shopped there, and he tells you that YOU have to pay the bill anyway and file a police report.

[Peter1469]

When it comes to Social Security numbers, it's true - originally it was not even lawful to require the submission of those numbers for any other purpose. Now every time you open a bank account, go to a new doctor's office or apply for a credit card, you have to give them that number or, in many cases, they won't even talk to you.

Military members used to be assigned a unique "serial number", but since 1974 the military has used Social Security numbers. (That's what they say, but I enlisted in 1972 and I know for a fact they were using SS#s then.) I remember once coming across a multi-page listing of everyone in my squadron, over three hundred people, with Social Security/Service numbers and other personal information. It was just floating around for anyone to see.

Yes, we give our privacy, our information and in some cases our very identities away, but companies frequently give it away, too. Years ago I received a bill from Sprint for cellphone service, more than a hundred dollars, which was a surprise to me since I didn't yet have a cellphone. When I called to inform them of this little fact, the Customer Service person sounded properly concerned and sympathetic and told me that someone from their "investigations" department would be contacting me.

A week later, their "investigations" department - which turned out to be their Collections office - called and told me that I needed to pay the bill and file a police report. When I pointed out that I didn't owe them any money, and that they had apparently given away my identity to someone on the basis of their knowing my home address and Social Security number, the Collections guy tried to make it out to be MY fault for "letting somebody find out your Social Security number". I laughed and told him that I could no doubt find out HIS Social Security number with very little effort, despite my not being either a detective or a crook. I also advised him - and subsequently had to advise higher-ups at Sprint - that THEY were the victims, not me, so if anyone needed to file a police report it was them.

Companies, like cellphone service providers and others, are so eager for a larger share of the market dollar that they will make it as easy as possible to open an account with them. Then when they - predictably - get defrauded, they go after the individual whose identity THEY, in effect, gave away. I liken it to my walking into a supermarket, filling my cart with groceries, and then telling the cashier, "Oh, I forgot my wallet. But here's my Social Security number and home address. I'll send you a check or stop by later to pay for these." Only I give them YOUR information. A week goes by and the store manager calls you and asks, "When are you going to pay for those groceries?" You say you don't owe his store any money, have never even shopped there, and he tells you that YOU have to pay the bill anyway and file a police report.

We used our SSN for everything in the Army. In 2000 I was instrumental is getting the PX and Commissary to stop requiring SSNs on checks at Ft. Drum.

[Sergeant Gleed]

How many of you have read 1984 in the last ten years?

[AZ Jim]

I discharged in '57 and have a unique serial number NOT a social security number. That idea (to use SSN) was not thought out. Are they still using SSN for Serial #?

[Peter1469]

I discharged in '57 and have a unique serial number NOT a social security number. That idea (to use SSN) was not thought out. Are they still using SSN for Serial #?

They were when I retired in 2016.