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These things ain’t cheap, don’t just place them willy-nilly.
When you get used to having a smart speaker in your home, you start wanting to carry it around with you wherever you go. It’s understandable; it’s a cool piece of tech that you can have an almost-conversation with. That being said, there are a few spots in your home that really shouldn’t have an Amazon Echo on them.
Near a Toilet
Do you really want a little machine listening to you while you do your business? Because I don’t. Even putting that little Orwellian nightmare aside, though, even the cleanest bathrooms have their fair share of grossness floating around. If your Echo is within spitting distance of your toilet, sooner or later, it’s gonna get some toilet water on it (or in it). Just put the Echo somewhere else and get a few minutes of privacy, I’m sure Alexa won’t mind.
Near a Sink
If you’re anything like me, your hands have a nasty habit of randomly slapping things when they’re on a kitchen counter. I swear, it’s some kind of magnetic thing. One errant push, and your Echo’s going right into a wet sink, or even worse, the garbage disposal. If you need your Echo in the kitchen, put it on the corner of a counter or on the table, far away from busy hands.
By a Window
If your Echo can hear a voice, it can respond to it. If your Echo is a by a window, it could hear and receive commands from anyone who happens to be standing outside. There have also been concerns lately about laser hacking, wherein someone can remotely force Alexa to enact commands with an infrared laser. Granted, both of these cases are extremely unlikely, and worrying about them borders on paranoid, but would it really kill you to just put the Echo somewhere else?
Under the TV
Amazon advertises a lot on TV and streaming services, and sooner or later, one of those ads will say “Alexa, something something whatever.” Your Echo can and will interpret that as an actual command. Heck, even words that sound kind of similar to “Alexa” can set it off. Aside from just being generally annoying, Echos start recording voices when they receive commands, so you could be putting your privacy at risk.
