**Hi Everyone,**

I know how convenient, helpful and fun Alexa can be - it's truly a remarkable software/robotic app . . . **BUT** . . . despite all "her" charm, Alexa is not really your friend. A recently discovered flaw in Amazon's Alexa smart home devices allowed hackers to access your personal information and conversation history. **OMG!** 🙀

**This has always been the problem with Alexa and "her" helpful, kind personality (it's just a robot app folks:) - if "she's" listening for her name to be called, then she is listening to everything . . .** 😱

According to cyber-security experts, hackers were able to install or remove listening apps on your Alexa device - like Amazon's Echo, without you ever knowing - and they could hear everything.

This is so weird, so intrusive, so obvious that it was going to happen, and just plain wrong and dangerous. **Couldn't the authorities do the same thing . . . who else is spying on and monitoring us?**

*What about our right to privacy, freedom of speech, and democracy? Yikes!* 👂

This bug has reportedly been fixed, but it underscores the inherent risks to our freedom and privacy and how easy it is to collect data on us, listen to us inside our homes, and manipulate our emotions, thoughts, and purchase decisions. ⚠️

Amazon, the creator of Alexa, is just like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SNAP, Google, and other tech giants - **they are practicing "Surveillance Capitalism." See my TED Talk about this - the post is in this group.** Their business models center on the collection of your personal data and then sharing it with advertisers, marketers, and politicians. They target you and manipulate your thoughts, purchase decisions, political opinions, and votes. 👎

**What is the cure* 🎉 🙌🥳