Sssh! Amazon's Alexa could be about to listen to your conversations

It sounds like the beginning of an ill-fated sci-fi film, but Amazon’s Alexa could be about to start listening to your conversations.

Although the virtual assistant currently only listens when you call her name, Amazon has filled a US patent for a pioneering ‘voice-sniffing’ system that will monitor whole conversations when users had not actively chosen to talk to the AI system.

An algorithm in the system will reportedly listen out for trigger words which can be used to build a comprehensive profile of owners’ likes and dislikes.

The data will then be used to recommend products, although Amazon says that the device will not use the voice of customers for targeted advertising.

Instead, the device will listen via the gadget’s speakers and microphones in mobiles and computers.

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It will hear when people made a call or when their mobile was nearby, as well as identifying different people by voice or facial recognition.

A spokesman for Amazon said: ‘We take privacy seriously and have built multiple layers of privacy into our Echo devices. We do not use customers’ voice recordings for targeted advertising.

‘Like many companies, we file a number of forward-looking patent applications that explore the full possibilities of new technology. Patents take multiple years to receive and do not necessarily reflect current developments to products and services.

‘Amazon Echo uses on-device keyword spotting to detect the wake word. When these devices detect the wake word, they stream audio to the Cloud. You can review voice interactions with Alexa by visiting History in Settings in the Alexa App.

‘You can also delete specific voice recordings associated with your account by going to History in Settings in the Alexa App, drilling down for a specific entry, and then tapping the delete button.’