Alexa, go away! Star bans smart speaker
SHE has admitted she loves a bit of gossip and, being a Hollywood superstar, she is ideally placed to hear it.
But now Scots star Karen Gillan has ditched her Alexa smart speaker over fears it could be eavesdropping and ‘ruin her career’.
More than 100million Amazon Echoes, operated by using the word ‘Alexa’ and voice commands, have been sold worldwide.
But whistleblowers revealed that scores of workers in Costa Rica, India, Romania and the US listen to as many 1,000 audio clips a day.
Amazon says this is to improve the voice detection systems, but privacy campaigners believe they are a ‘spy in the living room’.
Explaining why she has banned the device from her home, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jumanji: The Next Level actress Gillan, 32, said: ‘I did have an Alexa then I got scared it was broadcasting all my conversations. If it can listen to you, it can record you. What if I said something about work and then Alexa broadcast it? It could ruin my career. She could turn on us.’
The Inverness-born star added: ‘I love the gossip but what if you are talking about someone and it dials them? What is happening to the world? This is a real threat.’
The actress was third in the Highest Grossing Stars of 2019 list and can currently be seen in film Call of the Wild with Harrison Ford.
Amazon has admitted workers eavesdrop on conversations with the device. A spokesman said: ‘Customers can review and delete voice recordings. Customer trust is of the utmost importance.’