It is done, Amazon account deletion request sent

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by John F

And how about wifi passwords? Alexa history?

People would be mad to have Amazon store WiFi passwords.

If you cared about privacy you'd never "share" passwords to Amazon (it's an option), and your WiFi passwords can be changed.

If you cared about privacy you'd never have had Alexa.

And does Amazon really delete it all? Where is the independent audit?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Quoth

People would be mad to have Amazon store WiFi passwords.

Why? Are they going to sell my wifi passwords to a local gang of war-driving thieves who will then use them to steal my family photos?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by John F

And how about wifi passwords? Alexa history?

Can you have an active Alexa without an Amazon account?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

People would be mad to have Amazon store WiFi passwords.

If you cared about privacy you'd never "share" passwords to Amazon (it's an option), and your WiFi passwords can be changed.

If you cared about privacy you'd never have had Alexa.

And does Amazon really delete it all? Where is the independent audit?

If you are that paranoid about privacy, stay off the Internet.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by Quoth

People would be mad to have Amazon store WiFi passwords.

If you cared about privacy you'd never have had Alexa.

It's frankly Amazing how people think they still have privacy when they Alexa or Google equivalent, Still perhaps privacy just isn't that high a priority for some.

It seems almost like big tech/ big corp becomes an addiction for some people, in the last year I have got rid of all big tech including Google, Android (yes I know that's Google) and Amazon and I can safely say life goes on, and without any major disruptions.

But it's everyones choice as to who they trust/ don't trust and as long as you are comfortable with your choices that's all that matters at the end of the day.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Graham44

It's frankly Amazing how people think they still have privacy when they Alexa or Google equivalent, Still perhaps privacy just isn't that high a priority for some.

You've finally hit the nail on the head. It bugs me to no end that many "but what about privacy?" advocates assume that others can't possibly understand exactly what they're trading for some technological conveniences. The default stance that others simply must not have had the risks properly explained to them is an annoying one (and just a tad conceited). Yours (rhetorical you) are not the only decisions being made with eyes wide open.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Graham44

It's frankly Amazing how people think they still have privacy when they Alexa or Google equivalent, Still perhaps privacy just isn't that high a priority for some.

It seems almost like big tech/ big corp becomes an addiction for some people, in the last year I have got rid of all big tech including Google, Android (yes I know that's Google) and Amazon and I can safely say life goes on, and without any major disruptions.

But it's everyones choice as to who they trust/ don't trust and as long as you are comfortable with your choices that's all that matters at the end of the day.

You could make the same argument for any smartphone. I find them kind of annoying too but because of things like 2FA, random devices, things ONLY working with a smartphone I kind of have to keep one around.

[John F]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You've finally got the nail on the head. It bugs me to no end that many "but what about privacy" advocates assume that others can't possibly understand exactly what they're trading for some technological conveniences. The default stance that others simply must not have had the risks properly explained to them is an annoying one (and just a tad conceited). Yours (rhetorical you) are not the only decisions being made with eyes wide open.

yup.

And the logic of "since people don't care about privacy in one case, they shouldn't do things to minimize it in other cases".

[Sirtel]

In some areas, convenience wins over privacy for me. I use Google products and Windows because alternatives are much poorer for me personally and I don't want to give up that much quality of life. I'm well aware I'm giving up some of my privacy by using big tech products, but it's a trade-off I'm willing to make. We all have different priorities. Some people value privacy first and foremost, others value simplicity and convenience more than privacy.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can you have an active Alexa without an Amazon account?

I can't imagine it. Nor do I understand why you'd want one even if you do buy from Amazon.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I can't imagine it. Nor do I understand why you'd want one even if you do buy from Amazon.

Why have any tech? Convenience. It's nice to be able to set kitchen timers while your hands are still covered in dough and you have other stuff to do, it's nice to just start playing a podcast, audiobook or song by saying it. Or answer a simple question like when does store XYZ close?

It's IMO the best way to control smart lights too. That's the main reason I have one.

Right now there aren't really any great completely self-contained options that don't use the cloud. Good speech to text is still too demanding for something like a Raspberry Pi on it's own.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Quoth

... Nor do I understand why you'd want one even if you do buy from Amazon.

I assume that is a general "you"? Maybe ask the thousands (millions?) of Alexa users why they want one? I can understand why a person doesn't want Alexa, but not being to understand why others may want Alexa seems strange to me.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

You could make the same argument for any smartphone.

I did, which is why I got rid of my smartphone (well I kind of had to anyway when I got rid of my Google account)

Although I understand that most people probably use their smartphone way more than I ever did, I only ever texted and called on it, so it was no real big upheavel to get rid of it.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Graham44

I did, which is why I got rid of my smartphone (well I kind of had to anyway when I got rid of my Google account)

Although I understand that most people probably use their smartphone way more than I ever did, I only ever texted and called on it, so it was no real big upheavel to get rid of it.

For me, a smartphone is a necessity. I have no car and move around by public transport, so have to look up bus times pretty often. Also banks, local online services and stores here use an app-based confirmation/identification, not passwords, so having a smartphone is a must if you want to use online banking or services.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Also banks, local online services and stores here use an app-based confirmation/identification, not passwords, so having a smartphone is a must if you want to use online banking or services.

Both my building societies also do the same but they also provide alternatives, one uses a card reader, the other uses a password and two other forms of identification. The second one doesn't sound as secure but they are a proper building society so they don't offer current accounts which restricts what you can actually do online (mainly you can move money between accounts owned by you)