5 ways to stop your smart gadgets from spying you

Worried about losing your privacy? Here's how you stop your gadgets from spying on you.

| Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 15:36 [IST]

Smart gadgets have made lie much easier than it was before, all of those tiny basic cumbersome tasks which you needed to perform have been made easier with the help of devices that have learned to obey and understand complex commands and perform duties which can serve you better.

5 ways to stop your smart gadgets from spying you

With devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home available out there, many actions are just a voice command away. But like with all new technology, there are a lot of kinks that still need to be worked out, but because of the access these devices have to our personal information, the risks we face when something goes wrong is multifold.

There are quite a few things that might go wrong because of a wrong line of code or a misunderstood voice command. A wise way to protect yourself from possible risks is to do a few things like the ones that have been mentioned below:

Disabling the mic

There is usually a physical button available on smart speakers which can be used to disable the microphone that they come equipped with. This button can be used to deactivate the microphone when you need to have private conversations which might have sensitive information. You can turn it back on when you're done with your conversation. Keeping the mic off throughout makes no sense as you will be limiting yourself and not taking advantage of a great many features that are available to you.

Limiting access to the mic

As we have established before, turning off your microphone completely is not a great plan as you won't have access to a lot of features and will be using your device as just a speaker by doing so. What you can do and should is go to settings and see which apps have access to the microphone. You do not need to provide microphone access to anything but the essential apps like video calls or video conferencing.

Switch off the camera

Even if it happens to be a home security camera, keeping a roll of tape or some bandages handy is a great idea. You can also turn the camera towards a wall when you are inside your home in order to prevent the thing from recording you when it doesn't really need to. You can turn it back to its original position before you leave.

The Faraday Bag!

A Faraday bag is a device that blocks all signals and keeps any electromagnetic waves from flowing into the bag or away from it. The really efficient ones will not allow any sensitive information to seep through. This includes your location. The other thing to keep in mind is that you will not be able to receive phone calls while your device is in the bag either.

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Major tech companies have made an effort over the years to make sure their devices can be used right out of the box without the users having to rely on long manuals or operating instructions. You can rely on the information from various instructional videos, how-to guides, and even reviews to keep track of ways with which you can protect yourself or learn about new threats that might be out there.