Google admits its new smart speaker was eavesdropping on users (2017)

Hmmm yet again, I am inclined to not believe this. How is it that these bugs always end up invading our privacy, and not the other way round? (&quot;Google&#x2F;Facebook admits a bug in their system reduced the data they could collect&quot;). Because those bugs are true bugs as far as these companies are concerned, and they&#x27;re squashed ASAP.<p>This is like when Facebook had an oopsie about leaving the microphone on, &quot;oh no sorry it was just a bug.&quot; Right, when you abused an iOS API to leave your app running all the time, a side effect was that you also recorded all the conversations on the phone. These companies are becoming a cancer on our privacy.

&gt; My Google Home Mini was inadvertently spying on me 24&#x2F;7 due to a hardware flaw<p>Are we really supposed to believe this?<p>Charitably, Google does not take privacy seriously, because they release products that have gaping flaws they neglect to test or correct. It would have been trivial for a test engineer to see a unit is collecting data on conversations without the wake word.<p>Or uncharitably, Google does not take privacy seriously, because they are releasing spyware, and just lie when they get caught.<p>Edit: In this case, maybe some leeway can be given because they were test devices, but it still makes me wary of having these type of things in my home.

By this point, is the the only difference between breaches by Google (and its ilk) and Equifax is that in the case of the former we can opt out using it?