Amazon has admitted staff listen to customers’ conversations through the firm’s best-selling smart speaker Alexa.
The tech giant said today the recordings were used to help improve the Echo device’s understanding of human speech.
The reaction to the report, by news site Bloomberg, suggests many users are unaware humans are listening in, with staff each able to review up to 1,000 audio clips a day.
Teams had shared recordings they found funny in internal chat rooms.
Amazon staff 'overhear sex attack on Alexa - but aren't allowed to intervene'
They had also listened to two potential sexual assaults and a child screaming for help, it was found.
Cyber security expert David Emm said: “It’s uncomfortable that they have got all this information and that humans have been listening in.”
Amazon said: “We have strict technical safeguards and a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of our system.”
