What we found
Alexa (Echo Platform): FAmazon hired thousands of people in Romania, Costa Rica, India, and Boston to listen to what you said to Alexa.
Bloomberg reported in April 2019 that Amazon employs thousands of workers in Romania, Costa Rica, India, and Boston to listen to and transcribe Alexa voice recordings. Reviewers reported hearing recordings of sexual encounters, domestic violence incidents, children talking, and people singing in showers. Internal tools showed account numbers and first names of users alongside recordings. One reviewer reported hearing what sounded like a sexual assault and was told by Amazon that "it wasn't Amazon's job to interfere." Amazon did not disclose human review in Alexa's terms of service until after Bloomberg's report forced the issue. Amazon's response -- that reviewers don't have "direct access" to identifying information -- was contradicted by their own internal tools displaying account numbers.
HomePod mini: F"What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone" was Apple's billboard while it paid contractors to listen to your Siri recordings.
In July 2019, a whistleblower told The Guardian that Apple's grading program had contractors listening to Siri recordings — hearing drug deals, medical discussions, couples having sex. Recordings included location and contacts. Apple settled Lopez v. Apple for $95 million in 2025.
Sonos Smart Speaker Platform: FSonos asked customers to deliberately destroy working speakers.
In 2020, Sonos announced "Recycle Mode" which bricked perfectly functional older speakers, turning them into e-waste in exchange for a 30% discount on new products. The mode was irreversible — once activated, the speaker would stop working after 21 days. After massive backlash, Sonos eliminated the trade-up recycling requirement but the damage was done. In May 2024, Sonos released a completely rewritten app that removed features users relied on — alarm functionality, local music library access, accessibility features, and queue management. CEO Patrick Spence was forced to resign. The company laid off staff. Investors filed a securities fraud lawsuit alleging Sonos knew the app was broken before launch.
Amazon Echo Dot: DAlways listening. 7 microphones recording your living room. Alexa voice data reviewed by humans worldwide.
FTC settlement (2023-05-31): Amazon retained children's voice recordings indefinitely even after parents explicitly requested deletion. Amazon kept text transcripts after deleting audio without informing users. 30,000 Amazon employees had access to Alexa voice recordings without business justification. FTC imposed $25 million penalty for COPPA violations.
Google Nest Mini: DGoogle's cheapest spy. Always-on microphone for $50. Recorded 0.2% of conversations for human review.
Google's own Nest privacy commitments page simultaneously states that "the text of" Assistant voice interactions (transcripts) MAY be used to inform interests for ad personalization. The audio is transcribed, then the transcript feeds the ad system — a distinction without a meaningful difference to users who believe their voice interactions are private from advertising.
Sonos One: DPremium speaker that bricked older models to sell you new ones. Always-on microphone for Alexa/Google.
In June 2024, Sonos removed the statement "Sonos does not and will not sell personal information about our customers" from the US privacy policy only. The same promise remains in policies for Canada, UK, Spain, and Australia — countries with stricter consumer protection laws. Sonos did not respond to media inquiries about what this change means.