Watch what you say. Google and Siri are listening even when they are not listening

Consumers who have decided to purchase voice assistants are increasingly noticing that devices work without contacting them. Because of concerns about their privacy, they file complaints with the courts.

Tech companies continue to encourage customers to put their own listening devices in their homes and pockets, in an effort to convince them to rely on their own voice assistants for every little need. However, some are increasingly concerned that these devices are eavesdropping on them even when they shouldn’t.

This week, a federal judge in California ruled that An apple You’ll have to deal with a lawsuit brought by users, alleging that Siri’s voice assistant improperly recorded private calls. The judge said the case could go ahead despite Apple’s request that it be denied, according to the Washington Post.

Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Federal District Court in Auckland article relating to the economic harm to users. However, it ruled that plaintiffs seeking to make the suit a class action could still claim that Siri was recording their private conversations and passing data to third parties, thus violating user privacy.

This case is one of several cases brought against Apple. google browser and Amazon regarding allegations of privacy violations by voice assistants. However, the companies deny that Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are eavesdropping on conversations for any unintended purpose, such as helping with tasks or playing music.

The above lawsuit, as well as a similar lawsuit against Google, which is also under the California federal court system, threatens that companies will once again find themselves under fire because of the way they handle private information collected from millions of users.

It’s worth noting that the popularity of voice assistants has skyrocketed in recent years — eMarketer estimated late last year that 128 million people in the US would use one at least once a month. However, as they grow, more and more people fear that the system is listening too closely to feel comfortable.