Internet of Speaking Things : A survey about opinions on smart speakers

Abstract: Smart speakers are a category of smart devices with a built-in voice assistant and a variety of specialized sensors. Introducing these devices into our homes has proven to be a potential privacy threat to the unaware user because of its “microphone always on” nature. The smart speaker provides convenience at the cost of personal information being shared with the company who built the product. In this paper we introduce our readers to smart speaking devices, their management of personal information and its privacy implications. Firstly, with our literature review, we dig deeper into the current understanding of smart speakers, data management, general opinions and awareness. Secondly, we conclude a survey by means of a questionnaire where we discover the opinions of residents in Blekinge county, southern Sweden, towards smart speakers management of personal data in order to evaluate the general position of said residents towards these devices with the hopes to bring added value and understanding to the current research and to give additional information that can be useful by smart speakers manufacturers in terms of the user experience. We find that there is low demand for the product in Blekinge, that sensitive information is unlikely to be shared knowingly by the user and that an IT background doesn’t have a large impact on the opinion or interest of the user.