Last Updated on 16th December 2021
Smart speakers can be great addition to any household. Not only can they be of practical use (like adding to the seemingly never-sending Christmas shopping list!), but they can be a source of fun for the whole family. However, knowing how to use them safely is important.
In 2019, children’s use of smart speakers increased by 27% and in 2020, 22% of UK residents had a smart speaker in their home. We now use smart speakers for everything from calling our friends, ordering products online, and asking random questions!
To ensure you and your family know how to use smart speaker safely this Christmas, our team of online experts have highlighted the potential risks and explored the parental features on the most popular speakers below.
If you purchase or receive a smart speaker this Christmas, or if you already have one in your household, children and young people may already be familiar with the voices of Siri, Google or Alexa. It is important to take some time out to explain what they are, what are the risks and what they can do to stay safe.
What are the risks of Smart Speakers:
- There has been growing privacy concerns surrounding smart speakers because they record and store everything you say to them – read tips below on how to delete these recordings.
- Some people may use smart speakers to ask personal questions, which other users may be able to see.
- Smart speakers can listen in on conversations so make sure you know how to mute the microphone.
- Smart speakers can be set to automatically purchase products. An African grey parrot even managed to do this, so no doubt children can too. We would recommend disabling this setting.
- Smart speakers can alert you to incoming deliveries – be mindful of this when ordering surprise or personal items online.
- Some devices can offer to ‘learn your voice’ – this is not always necessary so limiting its learning may give you better privacy.
- Despite human names for some smart speakers designed to build trust, children and young people should understand that they are interacting with a non-human interface which can sometimes get things wrong.