Although they are all the rage, smart assistants like Amazon Echo or Google Home raise some privacy issues. Indeed, thanks to their integrated microphones, these connected speakers are able to constantly listen to the surrounding sounds in order to react immediately when called. Of course it is practical, but despite the manufacturer’s guarantee, people can still reasonably want to know what information (mainly personal information) collected during the day is…
In order to fight the potential behavior of these charming assistants, a group of technicians gathered around Bjørn Karmann developed a particularly clever cell phone jammer device. This alias called “parasite” is called “alias” and consists of a 3D printed polymer shell that is placed directly on the speaker like a hat. Most importantly, it is equipped with a microphone, two mini speakers and a Rasperry Pi nano computer, which is programmed to continuously generate white noise, thereby eliminating permanent listening by the assistant while still allowing voice commands to pass. Aliases can be controlled through the mobile app, which allows you to define new keywords to deactivate interference and control assistants.
For now, even if the prototype is feasible, Alias is only in the collaborative project phase. Its development is carried out in open source, and all plans to achieve this goal are available for free on the Instructables website. There is no doubt that this original and useful move will interest a large number of users.