Alexa may start playing you ads

[mankeez]

Amazon's speaker lineup Echo is rumoured to start playing you ads based on the questions you ask. As reported in WhatHiFi (https://www.whathifi.com/news/amazons-alexa-products-could-start-playing-adverts):

Quote

These adverts could be the audio equivalent of paid ads at the top of Google searches (or similar to that brief period when the Google Home advertised Beauty and the Beast). However, while it's easy to quickly scroll past a visual advert, it's unclear whether users would be able to skip these audio ads.

According to the report, Amazon is looking to place adverts based on past shopping behaviour - suggesting products from companies you have previously purchased from. It could also put advertising into Alexa skills, so that anyone using a company's app would receive adverts for more products.

Read more at https://www.whathifi.com/news/amazons-alexa-products-could-start-playing-adverts#hYswBJOlpWjBC8mP.99

They specifiaclly discuss how you can scroll right through a visual ad, users may be forced to listen to these audios. However, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that they do not plan on putting adds in Alexa. Wa cannot completely trust Amazon at this point yet last year, Voicelabs told us that they were placing some 15 second audio track in Alexa speakers. Amazon has denied collaborating eith the company. What do you think? Would you like to hear some guy talking about how great this new washing machine is every 30 minutes? Me neither. Share your thoughts down below.

 

Sources (1):

What HiFi: https://www.whathifi.com/news/amazons-alexa-products-could-start-playing-adverts

[Crunchy Dragon]

I do see the appeal of Alexa and Echo, but I don't see much point for me personally to have one.

 

The commercials however are excellent meme material

[LienusLateTips]

I might sell mine now... it's brand new but I can't return it since I bought it at Amazon Books in the US.

[paddy-stone]

If this is true, I will be returning the 3 dots I have... I do NOT want to listen to ads at all, and plus I use them all around the house and do not want my family exposed to ads either. I wouldn't be against them ASKING if I wanted to hear and ad though, so like you ask alexa to look something up, and it goes " I have the information for you, and think you may be interested in this ad, would you like to hear it?" then you can just say "No" and she tells you the info... or at any time during the ad, you can say "skip"... as long as it's not laborious then I don't care really, but if they ruin the functionality then I'll be returning them or junking them.

[mankeez]

11 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I do see the appeal of Alexa and Echo, but I don't see much point for me personally to have one.

 

The commercials however are excellent meme material

IKR!

[Dissitesuxba11s]

If they want to sell more of these then they will not do this. My mum has a  Fire Tablet and it has ads for every application. I bought her an iPad for her birthday so she doesn't have to go through that crap.

[ItsMitch]

I highly doubt Amazon will pump ads into Echo Echo and Alexa, it seems silly for them to even try it, they're a monolithic company with billions of dollars behind them, pointless and stupid.

[mankeez]

Just now, Dissitesuxba11s said:

If they want to sell more of these then they will not do this. My mum has a  Fire Tablet and it has ads for every application. I bought her an iPad for her birthday so she doesn't have to go through that crap.

It seems like they just care about the money, and Jeff Bezos said that he wants Amazon to be the most customer centered company to ever exist. For now they are doing a GREAT job. (ehmsarcasmehm)

[mankeez]

1 minute ago, SC2Mitch said:

I highly doubt Amazon will pump ads into Echo Echo and Alexa, it seems silly for them to even try it, they're a monolithic company with billions of dollars behind them, pointless and stupid.

You never know with these companies.

[Castdeath97]

The Amazon Echo is already a niche product Amazon, you might as well just kill it to save yourself the trouble....

[Arika]

"Alexa, shut the fuck up" is going to quickly become the most used command

[Yoinkerman]

Reason #9982636634 not to own a spying tape recorder

[Guest]

I really don't see the point of these when I have Siri. No ads either. Don't you Android peasants have something similar as well?

What is the difference between Alexa etc and phone assistants? Seems like wasted money.

[Matu20]

Ads are creeping in every smart thing we own, so this is just a matter of time.

[Nicnac]

Don’t get why you would wanna have Alexa or google home in the first place. At best it’s a gimmick. And now a pretty annoying one

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, Nicnac said:

Don’t get why you would wanna have Alexa or google home in the first place. At best it’s a gimmick. And now a pretty annoying one

I use it to translate measurements from stupid American recipes to metric. 

[Nicnac]

3 minutes ago, JDE said:

I use it to translate measurements from stupid American recipes to metric. 

As I said. A gimmick...

[yian88]

Alexa racist SJW get rid of it fast.

[PCMasterDebater]

I don't have an Alexa or Echo, never used Siri, I don't download apps, and I quarantined Cortana to fully block her. I must say, its getting time consuming trying to block all this shit that is recording everything we do.

 

Problem is, there are to many people in the world using these 'resources' so companies continue to invest in this crap. The more they invest, the less likely this sort of behavior will ever end.

 

Why do people not care about their privacy?

[Cookybiscuit]

1 minute ago, PCMasterDebater said:

Why do people not care about their privacy?

He said as he posted from an OS with irremovable telemetry, using a PC with a GPU that has a built-in video encoder and a backdoored CPU.

[Bananasplit_00]

Well while this is bad, I personally won't ever buy one of these devices for my home. Don't like the concept of Google, Amazon or whoever listening in to literally everything

[divito]

3 hours ago, PCMasterDebater said:

Why do people not care about their privacy?

Because people would rather spend less money compared to a private service for whatever it is we're referencing.

That, and most people don't wear tinfoil hats.

[D13H4RD]

No thanks.

 

If I wanted ads, I'd be plastering my entire house with printed ads.

[dizmo]

Ads would be a deal breaker for me. I don't think they'd be that stupid though. If it played an ad in the morning and one at night maybe, but that's just a slippery slope to start down. 

 

I bought my dad a Google Home Mini for Christmas. I don't know if he'll think it's creepy or cool

 

On 1/5/2018 at 12:53 AM, Nicnac said:

Don’t get why you would wanna have Alexa or google home in the first place. At best it’s a gimmick. And now a pretty annoying one

Eh, it has its uses. Granted you might not find them useful, but that doesn't mean it's just a gimmick to everyone else. Don't fall into the "I don't use it so it's a gimmick" mindset. 

On 1/5/2018 at 12:54 AM, JDE said:

I use it to translate measurements from stupid American recipes to metric. 

Didn't your measuring spoon set come with both?

3 hours ago, PCMasterDebater said:

I don't have an Alexa or Echo, never used Siri, I don't download apps, and I quarantined Cortana to fully block her. I must say, its getting time consuming trying to block all this shit that is recording everything we do.

 

Problem is, there are to many people in the world using these 'resources' so companies continue to invest in this crap. The more they invest, the less likely this sort of behavior will ever end.

 

Why do people not care about their privacy?

Haha, I do, to a point. I'm not THAT paranoid though. They are resources. Not sure why you put that in quotations. 

 

There will always be a small handful of people that believe the government is out to get them and companies want to harvest every detail of their lives. Haye to break it to you, but you're likely not that special. Aside from trying to sell you something, they couldn't give less of a fuck about the rest of your life.  

[dizmo]

7 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

No thanks.

 

If I wanted ads, I'd be plastering my entire house with printed ads.

It already kind of is, of you consider product branding

 

I remember as a kid I loved branded tee shirts. Now they just look like blatant brand adverts to me. I'll gladly rock a Canadian or GB flag though. I'll promote that shit all day long