Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 140 posts

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#41

Post by geofft »

EchoUser wrote: post #19
owlninja wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where does it say this?

Section 1.3 of the Alexa Terms of Use: "...to provide and improve our services...". 1.3 Alexa Interactions. You control Alexa with your voice. Alexa streams audio to the cloud when you interact with Alexa. Alexa processes and retains your Alexa Interactions, such as your voice inputs, music playlists and your Alexa to-do and shopping lists, in the cloud to provide and improve our services. Learn more about these voic…

Section 1.1 of the Alexa Calling and Messaging Schedule (at the bottom of those terms) seems to imply that the actual content of your calls isn't what they call "Alexa Interactions", although if you call out to Alexa during the call ("Alexa, hang up"), that is an Alexa Interaction.

It's not very clear, though, and I feel like they could have made this clear very easily.

(I do expect Amazon to store the voiceprints of "Alexa, do foo" to improve their speech-to-text, as well as analyze the actual requests, yes, but I would hope that Amazon is not analyzing or storing the contents of calls.)

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#42

Post by dogma1138 »

jbigelow76 wrote: post #38
chayesfss wrote: post #25

Call/message anyone with the alexa call app? Won't get out of the gate

I think Android users would be more open to adopting a new call/message app. Apple users however are pretty well anchored to the iMessage/FaceTime combo.

Besides the hordes of Apple users that seem to use WhatsApp/FBM/Signal etc without any problems?

If anything Android might be worse off, if it's like Prime Video the app won't be available on the Google Play Store and you'll have to install Amazon Underground or w/e they call their app store now manually then download Amazon Prime Video for your device.

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#43

Post by Eridrus »

asciimo wrote: post #30

I wonder who's providing their telephony backend. There was some speculation that Twilio was powering Amazon Connect. Twilio's Jeff Lawson was an original AWS product manager...

Does this actually make real telephone calls? I got the impression that this only connected the Echo products and app.

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#45

Post by blastofpast »

Eridrus wrote: post #43
asciimo wrote: post #30

I wonder who's providing their telephony backend. There was some speculation that Twilio was powering Amazon Connect. Twilio's Jeff Lawson was an original AWS product manager...

Does this actually make real telephone calls? I got the impression that this only connected the Echo products and app.

According to the article, it's not real telephone calls, yet.

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#46

Post by j_s »

komali2 wrote: post #36
j_s wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My gut feeling is that FaceTime is encrypted client-to-client (or at least primarily p2p direct connections) but I don't have time right now to look into this in detail. Google / Skype are both assumed to be MitM'd; Microsoft in fact purposely re-did things to centralize Skype. If I recall correctly, Google Voice was pretty clearly used for training data.

>gut feeling Why are you using gut feeling to make decisions when you clearly have an internet connection right now and can confirm or deny your hypothesis instantly?

> Why are you using gut feeling to make decisions

I'm not using gut feeling to make decisions; I am sharing information with an appropriate "grain of salt" disclaimer attached.

>> I don't have time right now to look into this in detail

Repeated in case you missed it.

But since you took the time to call me out (thanks?), I will Google it for you:

https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/law-enforcement-guidelin... (September 29, 2015)

FaceTime communications are end-to-end encrypted and Apple has no way to decrypt FaceTime data when it is in transit between devices. Apple cannot intercept FaceTime communications. Apple has FaceTime call invitation logs when a FaceTime call invitation is initiated. These logs do not indicate that any communication between users actually took place. Apple has no information as to whether the FaceTime call was successfully established or duration of a FaceTime call. FaceTime call invitation logs are retained up to 30 days. FaceTime call invitation logs can be obtained with an order under 18 U.S.C. §2703(d) or court order meeting the equivalent legal standard or search warrant.

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#47

Post by blastofpast »

wan23 wrote: post #22

This seems like the biggest feature these devices have been missing. Some use cases off the top of my head: * Alexa, call my phone (because I can't find it) * Alexa, call for Chinese food (okay everyone call out what you want) * Alexa, send a message to my son -- "I've fallen and I can't get up"

#1 solution that I've been using, is setup an ifttt skill, then "alexa, trigger call my phone"

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#48

Post by ourmandave »

danielhooper wrote: post #39
scosman wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or as an intercom: * Alexa, call the living room: hey everybody, dinner's getting cold!

More like "tell everybody the dinner's getting cold" and Alexa will figure out what room they're in ;)

More like send them a text message to the device they're currently on.

Re: Amazon enables free calls and messages on all Echo devices with Alexa Calling

#50

Post by kylec »

I wish we could just get some standardization and federation across VoIP providers. I would love to be able to use whatever device I want to call someone else, who can use whatever device they want to answer. Mac, PC, iOS, Android, Alexa - it should all just work together.
Post reply on HN