Amazon is continuing its smart home market expansion by supplementing its most popular device, the Amazon Echo. The online retailer now has a new shiny toy in its product line in the form of Amazon Echo Look. The recent addition to Amazon’s catalog, dubbed by the company as a “hands-free camera and style assistant”, is basically a standalone selfie device aimed primarily at the budding fashionistas. Users can take either photos or videos of themselves to get a fashion advice for their choice of clothing.
As expected, Alexa is once again at the center of the mystery, branching out its field of operations from powering speakers to powering cameras. The personal assistant is triggered by issuing commands like “Alexa, take a picture” and “Alexa, take a video”. Video recording works a bit different than usual this time. You need to spin 360 degrees to get shots from all sides while keeping your hands free. Echo Look doesn’t sport a built-in display so users navigate through selfies using Echo Look app on their handset. The device also comes with Style Check, a feature that uses the ever-present machine learning to compare different outfit choices and rate them accordingly.
So, the device takes pictures of you, as well as videos. That a lot of information, progressively going from Alexa recording your voice to now adding it, in a way, to a face, completing a full circle. Of course, the age-old question when it comes to your internet privacy is this – will Amazon Echo Look record every command and action you make? Let’s have a look at the facts.
Fact #1 – Alexa records and stores a lot of data
When we say that Alexa is behind Echo Look, it automatically means storing every voice command you issue to it. While the majority of Echo users is probably familiar with Amazon’s practice of storing that information not just on the devices themselves but on the company’s servers as well, the fact remains there is a trove of your recordings stored somewhere out there. And not just you – anyone who has ever been close to your Echo and said, “Alexa!” has directly added to its vast library of recordings.
The same applies for Echo Look as it functions on the same principle. The device listens for the wake word and only then does it respond. The difference here is that the camera is always off until you trigger it through voice commands or the dedicated app. On the other hand, the microphone is always on and waiting for the wake word. Accordingly, there is an off button for the microphone and camera on the side of the device so you can enjoy some privacy. However, adding new ways to store data about you ultimately raises new questions about the security and privacy of smart home devices.
Fact #2 – It’s an Amazon product
That being said, being a hardware product from the world’s largest online retailer comes with a certain benefit. So far, Amazon is adamant to keep things as tight as possible, even refraining from providing data during an ongoing murder investigation. The company understands the security and privacy risks involved with any smart home device, let alone the one that performs a wide variety of commands. Amazon is upfront about storing your information to further improve its products and services. The company also firmly believes the encrypted data is safe and secure. So far, it has a good record at it and there is no reason to doubt it.
Fact #3 – It’s a camera
Perhaps the understated element of Amazon’s offering is its essence – this is a camera. As such, it captures far more than your styling. If you have one in the bedroom, presumably, Echo Look also captures a part of your surroundings. Be it jewelry on your nightstand, your framed pictures or posters on the wall and so on – it’s there. Notably, there is no guarantee that the capturing of a photo or a video begins and ends with just your clothes. Why? Because of the ubiquitous nature of the machine learning.
Echo Look effectively joins Amazon’s powerful machine learning tech with a camera specifically envisioned to take pictures of you and suggest clothing combinations. It’s only a matter of time before it starts recommending the things you might want to buy. From Amazon, of course. The technology is designed to both identify the objects and their purposes. Drawing the line between its primary use – dishing out fashion advice and all of the rest is key. That’s already a ton of data Echo Look is collecting and if Amazon doesn’t scale down its potential scope, the proverbial line will be the one in the sand.
Fact #4 – There is no clear privacy policy regarding Echo Look
While the first two facts are in the mainstream for quite some time and aren’t really a secret (even if there is a good portion of Echo users oblivious to the things we just mentioned), there is really no clear privacy policy when it comes to Echo Look, at least not yet. As evidenced by the Alexa and Alexa device FAQ page, there is no separate privacy policy for the camera device.
Considering its potential for collecting data, there should be one, especially with machine learning in play. Yes, Amazon is very clear that it doesn’t provide “interest-based ads” to third parties nor forces personalized ads upon you. You can also delete your photos and video at any time. However, there is no written guarantee Amazon will use machine learning solely for the purpose of identifying your outfits. The sooner there is, the more faith consumers will have in Echo Look and really any similar product. Moving forward, the need for transparency regarding what data is recorded will exponentially grow with advancements in technology.
Conclusion
Back to the focal point of the whole story, it seems Echo Look is continuing in the footsteps of its older brother. The device will record everything you do, provided you trigger it with a command. Other than that, it stays mum but the thing with internet-connected cameras is you never know. Naturally, this is beyond Amazon’s reach. Those people that put tape over their laptop’s webcam actually have a point, considering all the past vulnerabilities and exploits. That is perhaps the main reason why Echo Look features the off button so prominently. It’s as if Amazon is directly addressing privacy questions with it, along with the fact that the camera is off until triggered. As for your recordings, they go straight to the cloud and stay there until you delete them.
Amazon’s designated personnel may use the data to improve its services, like providing feedback through Style Check. Thus, you’ll want to make sure you double check your captures for any details you want to keep to yourself. In the end, it’s all about us, the users. Ultimately, we are the ones in charge. There will always be that cost-to-benefit equation we’ll need to address and solve with smart devices. Does installing a camera device like Echo Look into your home bring more benefits than harm from potential risks? Amazon obviously believes it does through its strong server encryption and promises not to share the collected information. The issue could become more complex in the near future. It’s up to us to limit the scope of the device. As we integrate it in our daily routine, we are the ones ensuring it sees and hears only what we want it to.