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Google recently disabled a feature included in its upcoming Google Home Mini smart speaker after a reviewer found that it was causing the device to record conversations and sounds even when no "OK Google" prompt word was spoken.

As detailed by Android Police's Artem Russakovskii, who received a Google Home Mini test unit last week, the device was malfunctioning due to an issue with the built-in touch panel designed to let Google Assistant be activated with a press instead of a voice command.

The Google Home Mini's touch mechanism was registering phantom touch events, causing it to continually record audio, which is not supposed to happen. Russakovskii discovered the problem after finding thousands of recordings in the Assistant section his My Activity portal on the web, where Assistant queries are stored.

googlehomemini-1-800x570.jpg

Google was alerted to the issue and collected his unit for testing, which led to the discovery of the faulty touch mechanism. The problem as described by Google:
We have learned of an issue impacting a small number of Google Home Minis that could cause the touch mechanism to behave incorrectly. We are rolling out a software update today that should address the issue.
To fix the malfunctioning touch panel, Google released a firmware update for all Google Home Mini devices disabling the feature allowing Google Assistant to be activated with a long press. Google told Russakovskii a longer-term fix is in the works, but in the meantime, the press to activate feature will not be available when the Google Home Mini launches.
In response, the updated software disables the long press to activate the Google Assistant feature. Once the Google Home Mini devices receive the updated software, all long press events (real or phantom) will be ignored and Google Assistant will not be invoked accidentally.

The company also let me know that they're in the process of building a long-term fix, whatever it may be. It's too early to say if they're going to be able to deal with "phantom" touch events entirely in software or a recall for affected units will be in order.
When the issue was discovered, Google took it seriously and collected the faulty review unit within a matter of hours. An engineer worked over the weekend to figure out what was going on and the firmware update to remove the feature was available by Tuesday.

Introduced last week, the Google Home Mini speaker is priced at $49.99 and can be purchased from the Google website. Google Home Mini units are expected to begin shipping out to customers on October 18.

Update: Google has provided an updated statement on the situation Google Home Mini and has decided to permanently remove all top touch functionality from the device.
"We take user privacy and product quality concerns very seriously. Although we only received a few reports of this issue, we want people to have complete peace of mind while using Google Home Mini.

We have made the decision to permanently remove all top touch functionality on the Google Home Mini. As before, the best way to control and activate Google Home Mini is through voice, by saying "Ok Google" or "Hey Google," which is already how most people engage with our Google Home products. You can still adjust the volume by using the touch control on the side of the device."

Article Link: Google Disables Malfunctioning Home Mini Feature That Could Cause Non-Stop Recording [Updated]
 
I don't see why a small number of paranoid people are so needlessly worried about letting these sorts of the devices into their homes.

Incidentally, I think the NSA is doing a wonderful job keeping our country free, thanks to their hard-working, dedicated group of good looking agents!
 
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Having a recording device in your home made by Google sounds a wonderful idea.

Even their wifi routers are sneaky. They send the MAC address of devices connected to Google "for service improvement".
 
I don't see why a small number of paranoid people are so needlessly worried about letting these sorts of the devices into their homes.

Incidentally, I think the NSA is doing a wonderful job keeping our country free, thanks to their hard-working, dedicated group of good looking agents!

Strange tin-foil people don't like our kool-aid...
 
I really wish Google wasn't in the business of collecting all the data they can on a person to sell it to for-profit companies. Google makes some pretty nifty things :(
 
Google? Sucking up your information via stealth listening devices? Shocking! Completely out of character for a company that prides itself on customer privacy. ;)
 
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If people thought the yahoo mail hack was bad, just sit back and enjoy the show a few years from now when we find out that every internet connected speaker on earth got hacked and everything that's was ever said by anyone owning one of these nightmare spying devices is now in the greasy hands of nefarious folks.

The day will come. You'll see.
 
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I really wish Google wasn't in the business of collecting all the data they can on a person to sell it to for-profit companies. Google makes some pretty nifty things :(
Enabled by collecting data on people... One sword, two edges.
 
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