Google Home Erroneous Update Reveals The $450 Million ADT Deal
What happens when your old budget smoke alarm suddenly becomes Google “smart”?
This apparently happened last week when a Reddit user brazedowl shared something mysterious with the internet:
“Burned something in the kitchen and the cheap $10 smoke detector went off. Then I got a notification on my phone that google heard the smoke detector going off. Pretty rad google.”
Source: Reddit
He shared a screenshot of his Android device showing Google Home notifications responding to the smoke alarm, indicating the device had been snooping around for alarm sounds in the background.
Another user tatsontatsontats commented in the same thread, “Mine heard possible glass breakings when I dropped some dishes I was washing. I don’t have a nest aware subscription so I’m curious if this is something to encourage me to buy and how long it’ll last.”
Strangely, neither users had subscribed to Google Nest, a home automation service, adding even more curiosity to what had caused these alerts.
Earlier this year the company had released details on the various features coming to Google Nest. One of the interesting points in that post explains, how the “always-on” Nest devices will now listen in for odd sounds, such as smoke detectors going off, or high pitched glass-breaking noises, which can potentially expand their use case to home security.Now, your Nest speakers and displays will notify you if a critical sound is detected, like a smoke alarm or glass breaking, by sending an alert to the Home app. From there, you can hear an audio clip or listen live within the Home app to confirm the alarm, and the new Nest Aware gives you the option to call 911 emergency services straight from the Home app (U.S. only).
Also read: 7 Client Data Protection Tips to Keep Customers Safe
Cat’s out of the bag
It turns out, Google had accidentally rolled out an update to its Home devices which tested certain home security features, possibly related to an upcoming business deal.
A Google spokesperson told Protocol this week that the company had in fact mistakenly pushed out this feature on the users’ devices, and has since reverted the update.
The same week, however, Google has unveiled its partnership with the American home security giant, ADT.
“Google will combine its Nest devices, services, and technology with ADT’s leadership position providing security solutions for millions of homes and small businesses in the U.S. The partnership pairs more than 20,000 ADT professionals together with Nest’s portfolio of helpful home devices,” said the company in a blog post.
This long term partnership means Google will be making a hefty $450 million equity investment in ADP, thereby acquiring a 6.6% share in the company.
Smart speaker devices are always listening should they hear catchphrases like “Hey Google” or “Alexa”, which already poses a privacy concern for some users. But, extending their purpose to home security could now take this hesitation a bit further for some users.
The approach isn’t unique to Google, however. Sure, Google may have inadvertently pushed out an update to its smart speakers, but Amazon Echo offers similar capabilities via the Ring—what they call “Alexa Guard.”
With the ever-growing number of IoTs in every household, along with their accelerating capabilities, who knows what else these devices bring for the future.
Also read: 12 brief explanation about the benefits of data protection for business success
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