![\"Earlier](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.futurism.com\/2019\/02\/google-secret-nest-microphone-300x158.png\")
<\/div>End of an Error<\/h2>
People who use Google’s home security device, Nest Guard, got some surprising news earlier this month when the company announced<\/a> that the device could now be used as a smart assistant.<\/p> That was startling because Google Assistant devices use voice recognition, and the company had never disclosed that Nests had built-in microphones. Now the search giant is admitting they do — and saying its failure to mention the microphone was an “error.”<\/p> According to the spokesperson, the microphones were never enabled and had been added to Nest devices in case the company decided to implement sound-based features. The spokesperson described a hypothetical use to Business Insider<\/em> in which a Nest Guard might detect the sound of broken glass during a break-in.<\/p> “The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider<\/em><\/a> <\/strong>on Tuesday. “That was an error on our part.”<\/p> Google has a fraught history with privacy advocates. In 2010, for instance, it got busted<\/a> sweeping up Wi-Fi data with its Street View cars. And earlier this year, France fined the tech giant<\/a> $57 million for privacy violations. And now, framing a secret microphone hidden in customers’ homes as an “error,” whether or not the microphone was active, doesn’t click.<\/p> Google acknowledging wrongdoing is a nice start, but there are no brownie points<\/a> to be had for framing the company’s decision as an error only after it came to light anyway.<\/p> READ MORE:<\/strong> Google says the built-in microphone it never told Nest users about was ‘never supposed to be a secret’<\/a> [Business Insider<\/em>]<\/p> More on Google:<\/em><\/strong> Google Wins Lawsuit Over Facial Recognition Technology<\/a><\/em><\/p> The post Google: Secret Nest Microphone “Never Intended to Be a Secret”<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Excerpt from: End of an Error People who use Google\u2019s home security device, Nest Guard, got some surprising news earlier this month when the company announced that the device could now be used as a smart assistant. That was startling because Google Assistant devices use voice recognition, and the company had never disclosed that Nests had\u00a0built-in microphones.\u00a0Now the search giant is admitting they do \u2014 and saying\u00a0its failure to mention the microphone was an \u201cerror.\u201d Telescreen According to the spokesperson, the microphones were never enabled\u00a0and had been added to Nest devices in case the company decided to implement sound-based features. The spokesperson described a hypothetical use to Business Insider in which a Nest Guard might detect the sound of broken glass during a break-in. Continue reading Telescreen<\/h2>
Ministry of Search<\/h2>
Google: Secret Nest Microphone “Never Intended to Be a Secret”<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"