MrTonyBoloney t1_j2703qp wrote on December 30, 2022 at 2:38 AM

Reply to comment by beebog in Google Home speakers allowed hackers to snoop on conversations by chrisdh79

Google Home Mini mic switch physically unplugs the microphone from power

aykay55 t1_j272oja wrote on December 30, 2022 at 2:56 AM

You have a source for this?

MrTonyBoloney t1_j273zaf wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:06 AM

If you’re still skeptical, here’s another relevant Reddit thread

aykay55 t1_j2751m3 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:14 AM

Thank you. I know well enough that it isn't listening 24/7, but I hadn't ever heard someone claim that the Google Home Mini physically cuts off access to the microphones when the switch is turned on. I'm happy to see Google built in this level of privacy to their device. Tbh, I was never really scared of smart speakers, I'm more suspicious of smart TVs that come with Alexa or Google Assistant support. Some of these TVs are already sold at a loss, and they don't have any physical shut-off switch for the microphones. And unplugging the TV is a physical chore that no one would bother doing. TVs continue to open their operating systems to third parties and some even offer access to the Play Store. And people don't usually prioritize updating their TVs to the latest software. So, that's a much bigger security hole for anyone that is concerned about being spied on than any smart speaker.

MrTonyBoloney t1_j275b05 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:16 AM

Agreed, when the attack vector is less obvious it gets less attention from both engineers and the public