Ask HN: What to do with a Google Home if you don’t trust Google?
I’ve stated on HN that I would never put a Google Home in my house because I don’t trust Google. So, naturally I won one at the office Christmas party. I thought about giving it away, but that just helps Google do things I personally find unethical. So, what useful things can I do with this device that don’t involve allowing Google to spy on my family and friends?
4 comments
There are a number of humorous things as Daffy Duck would say, "I can only do this trick once." Guarantee it is running some flavor of open operating system and it's a matter of time a maker rips one apart and turns it into something useful...so maybe just top shelf it for now...your decision not to use it is currently wise...
You could put it in a sealed box with a speaker and play audio into it, perhaps a feed of random tweets with "OK Google" prepended and run through a voice synthesizer. Add some entropy to their data.
You could sell it on Craigslist and donate the proceeds to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Not sure how to prevent it from being used for its intended purpose unless you destroy it.
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