Smart life

Whether smart speakers, smart TVs, smart watches or smart toys - smart devices have conquered households in Germany within just a few years. However, the triumph of smart devices is not only seen in a positive light. There are regular reports of data leaks and hacker attacks. Concerns that the manufacturers of smart devices will be able to expand their monopoly position further and further and collect huge amounts of data are omnipresent. Whether one is willing to share personal data from the highly private sphere of one's own home with globally active companies is something that everyone must decide for themselves.

However, anyone using smart devices in a household where children are growing up must take into account their right to privacy and their special need for protection. klicksafe has compiled information and tips below to help make growing up with smart devices as safe as possible for children.

Amazon, Google and Apple are the companies that dominate the European market for smart speakers, or voice assistants. These devices are Internet-connected speakers that can be controlled by voice command. Thus, one can easily get information about the weather, the time or the movie program by voice command. Alexa, Siri and Co. are thus characterized by particularly simple and intuitive operation. But other household items such as lamps, heaters or shutters can also be linked to smart speakers and controlled by voice command. The ability to influence objects in the environment by voice is a great fascination for children and is quickly making smart speakers a popular toy. However, none of the companies that dominate the market have designed their devices for use by adolescents.

Users can take a few precautions to reduce the likelihood of private data ending up on the servers of internationally operating companies:

• One option is to set the smart speakers so that they cannot be activated by voice command, but only by pressing a button on the device. This can greatly reduce the frequent random recordings, but it also reduces the ease of use.
• Furthermore, it is possible to configure the devices in such a way that they emit a signal tone when activated and people in the vicinity are thus informed about the started recording.
• The safest way to prevent unwanted recordings is still to turn off the smart speaker completely as long as it is not in use.

Deleting collected recordings

• Users of smart speakers from Amazon or Google can easily get an overview of which recordings have been made in the past and should delete them regularly.
• For Amazon smart speakers, open the Alexa app, select "Settings", then "Alexa Account" and finally "History".
• For Google devices, log in to your Google account, click on "Data & Personalization", then in the Activity Settings section, click on "Voice & Audio Activities", and finally click on "Manage Activities".
• Apple device users do not have the option to listen to or delete the recorded audio.

Smart TVs are Internet-capable televisions that can call up content from the web in addition to the "classic" TV program. Meanwhile, well-known streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are already preinstalled on Smart TVs. However, anyone who wants to use the devices in a household with children and therefore set them up to be childproof must first make the necessary configurations. Parents should also be aware that smart TVs can also access content on the web that is not suitable for children and young people.