Let me start off by saying that I am not a tin foil hat guy, at all.
That being said, to you guys actually use these things in your own personal dwellings.
My wife brought one home and I am vehemently opposed to it, am I being paranoid, I don't think so.

I laughed at a guy a few years ago for having tape over his webcam. My home PC currently has a 39 cent stamp covering the camera. I'm completely serious about that.

I don't have Alexa in my house and I have no interest in it. My mom has it. It's fun to play music and search for things. It would be cool to turn lights/av on an off like we do with some customers. For now I'm going to pass until we see what if any risks are associated with it.

Crazy part is we have a client who is so security conscious that he spent a million on just the security system. He now has Alexa dots allover the house.

Nothing in my life is so complicated that one of these eavesdropping devices is needed. Cell phone and PC or tablet are bad enough.

I got an Echo dot v3 when they had a sale a few weeks ago. I use it mostly for music via Bluetooth to an amp/speakers. I like being able to skip songs, etc. without waking up the phone and finding the app, etc. Alexa is a lot better than the last time I played around with it.

I have no doubt the data is being captured and not just voice recordings. But unless I kill my wife, its just a bunch of 101010110 on a AWS drive somewhere.

If they target me for a KY ad because they hear my wife complaining of dryness so be it.

I’ve got three Dots in my house. For the longest time I thought it was completely a waste. My kids like them. I did create some events in Elan so my son can turn his tv on and off with it. Once I figured out routines, I have grown to really like it. I had the Christmas tree with Alexa Control, and at night I say “Alexa Goodnight” and she tells me goodnight, locks the doors, turns off the tv, turns off most lights, and waits 5 minutes to turn off the last lights.

I do prefer Googles version, however I will say that the Echo on my desk at work is permanently muted... if not by me, then by my colleagues.
They HATE it when Alexa pipes up and says 'Sorry I didn't quite get that' when they weren't talking to it. That's when they believe they're being spied on.
Of course... they may be talking about me, so maybe I should keep it running while I'm out of town?

And nothing in my life is so exciting that anyone listening would find it entertaining :-) . Dag, I need more secrets!

1st it should be noted that this is in no way a tin-foil-hat problem. It is 100% proven now that these device do indeed record EVERYTHING they hear. And not just when the code word has been given.
I am actually really surprised that the lies those companies told during the 1st few years of the product, have not been meet with more anger. I guess people have become desensitized about their privacy and just don't care anymore. WOW! To each their own I guess.

As to the devices. After testing and playing with the Amazon Dot I got last year, I threw it in the garbage. If customers want to use it in their home, that's up to them. I'll connect it to whatever they want.
I'm not having it in my home.

I have a Firestick and a FireHD reader. Both have Alexa and while they can be a PIA to use, finding a show, or music choice is easier with Alexa.

No use for it any more than that.

Wife's work gave the employee's some goodies what included a small hockey puck bluetooth speaker and it works great. Surprisingly pretty good sound for a little Dot sized thing. Have it sitting on the nightstand for sleep music.

Her company also bought a automotive supplies company and now I have all sorts of polishes, leather treatments, etc, etc.

Fun stuff.

My concerns about privacy have more to do with criminals listening to typical "we are in the safety of our own home" conversation about things like....

Daughters gymnastics schedule
Credit card information being given to the pizza guy
Employees/Employer/Coworkers etc listening for gossip or inside information
Racist uncle Pete telling "jokes" at Christmas
Ex wife/husband looking for dirt/ammunition for the divorce

These days if you are having a bad day and someone puts your rant on youtube your career is over. IF Amazon/Google whoever has access to what you say...the "dark web" has access to it. Your neighbor with a weekend to kill reading a "how to hack Alexa" article will have access to it.

Someone gave me a Google home. I fretted about even opening it because I own tin foil hats. But I decided to open it, the kids seemed interested in it..

After struggling to get the thing set up for 10 minutes, I unplugged it, put it back in the box and now use if for my coffee cup holder.

Interesting to me that we are all techies probably in our jobs to get to play with really cool and many times more-expensive-than-we-can-afford toys yet we push back so hard if comes from outside of our niche industry...

I get the safety side concerns but these devices are making lives easier. Many of our customers inquire about these technologies. If we don't live with them to compare and contrast to what we offer then we are doing our customers an injustice imo.

I started with the amazon experience but have moved to Google. Amazing what I can do with Google today! I start my morning getting weather and traffic and a schedule review.

My kids use it to ask relevant questions and to play music.

My wife uses it to display recipes.

We all use it to control lights and shades.

This is only scratching the surface. Am I willing to trade some privacy for the lifestyle enhancement? Yes... Do I manage it for the safety of my family? Yes!

Cell phone is worse because its with me everywhere.

I consisently get facebook friend suggestions for clients I have no friends/nothing else in common with outside of being at their house. I wasn't checking in on them and most don't even know my last name to waste their time checking in on me. The only thing I can figure is it's because I was in their home.

I understand most that most websites have tags to track you and start to advertise if you hit their site, can't figure the facebook one out though.

I have alexa in the house, used it for a while but rarely anymore. im changing stuff to much and things arent working on it.

I have a client who uses Facebook for video calls. He swears that he and his wife will be talking about something, and shortly thereafter he'll start to see pop up ads for a product or name they mentioned during the conversation.