Pozio Offers an Expensive Solution to Your Smart Speaker Privacy Concerns

The amazing thing about modern technology is that we literally have devices that we can ask to lock doors, turn off and on lights, look up recipes, and even change channels for us, all with a verbal command. The scary thing about modern technology is that we’ve also invited always-listening microphones into our homes to meet that convenience. Pozio aims to solve the privacy issue without taking away our digital butlers using listening blockers that double as cradles!

Pozio

Pozio’s idea is that instead of a device connected to the internet and constantly listening, you use their device…which is not connected to the internet and is only listening for one command, “Pozio, stop.” If it hears the command, it stops blocking for 30 seconds so you can chat with your smart speaker, then resumes blocking. This way, you can ask Google, “hey, which streaming service has Power Rangers” but then you don’t have to worry Google is listening to you while you actually watch Power Rangers. Because no one over the age of 12 wants there to be a digital record of that.

Now, here’s the only thing that might give you pause. Pozio is not cheap. Their “block and talk” phone cradle starts at $229, and their Shield Mini/Shield covers are $189/$199. You can snag a Google Home Mini or an Alexa Dot for less than $40 easily. So this product is for people who want a smart speaker but also want to spend 2-3x the cost of the smart speaker for the smart speaker to not listen to them.

All jokes aside, I could see this being useful if you want to use a smart speaker for music or something similar in a business setting but also need some privacy protection. If that fits your needs, you can learn more about it here or head to Kickstarter, where you can snag a Pozio for slightly less. Note that they have 20 days and are only about 25% of the way to their funding goal, so if this intrigues you, better head to Kickstarter ASAP!

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?

1 Comment on "Pozio Offers an Expensive Solution to Your Smart Speaker Privacy Concerns"

  1. Their FAQ doesn’t really explain how it works. The best I can guess is that it’s using noise cancellation to cancel all sounds going to your smart speaker.

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