Gadgetory

hey Google what's my name your name is Andrew hey that's right thanks Google both Google assistant built into Google home and Amazon's digital assistant Alexa built into Amazon echo speakers can currently recognize your voice I really like the feature actually with Google you can check your personal calendar check flights check traffic on your way to work with Alexa you can make calls get a personalized daily briefing both of them can play your customized playlists both can make purchases verified only by recognizing your voice when Google first rolled out the feature this spring we found it could be fooled by similar voices but can we intentionally trick both speakers let's find out hey Google Who am I I remember you saying it's Andrew hey Google Who am I I remember you telling me your name with Andrew there we go hey Google what's my name your name is Steve hey Google what's my name your name is Steve ok Google what's my name your name is Rui ok Google what's my name your name is Andrew ok Google what's my name your name is Rui ok Google what's my name your name is right I really sound like that okay Google what's my name your name is Molly okay Google what's my name your name is Molly Alexa what's my name andrew is speaking you're at Andrews account Alexa what's my name andrew is speaking you're at Andrews account Alexa what's my name I'm talking to Steve this is Steve's account Alexa what's my name I'm talking to Steve this is Steve's account Alexa what's my name I'm talking to Rui this is Kevin's account Alexa what's my name I'm not sure who's speaking but you're in Kevin's account that felt close yeah I thought you had it - Alexa what's my name I think you arrived this is Kevin's account Alexa what's my name I'm talking to Megan this is Kevin's account Alexa what's my name I'm talking to Megan this is Kevin's account so Chris found he could impersonate all three of us with some success on both Amazon echo and the Google home Megan and Molly were able to impersonate each other on both platforms so both platforms can be fooled meaning if someone sounds like you they can access your personal information they can make purchases on your account hey Google order lightbulbs okay here's something from Walmart on Google Express I can get for great value daylight white 9 watt LED light bulbs for eight dollars and 78 cents would you like to order that yes okay as far as those purchases with Google you saw Chris able to make a purchase on my behalf with Alexa when you first turn on voice purchasing there is a voice pin option but you do need to enable it so if you're worried about security you can turn off voice purchasing in both apps you can turn off personal results entirely in Google if you don't want people finding out what's on your calendar and you can delete your voice profile in Alexa Google even says in the Google home app to be careful with your info as a similar voice might be able to access it as far as this experiment here's what Google had to say users shouldn't rely upon voice match as a security feature it is possible for a user to not be identified or for a guest to be identified as a connected user those cases are rare but they do exist and we're continuing to work to make the product better Alexa claims to be more secure as the company confirms it listens to the entire utterance not just the wake work we found that to be sorta true as Chris struggled to imitate Rai but we were still able to fool it quite a few times that said the longer utterances of making a purchase might cause more trouble for someone trying to impersonate you when asked for comment Amazon declined so enjoy the conveniences of these cool features just be cautious about what's enabled and who in your household could feasibly sound like you