AFTER AMAZON ECHO MISFIRE, WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR OWN PRIVACY

    Revelations that an Amazon Echo smart speaker accidentally sent a family's private conversation to an acquaintance highlights some unexpected privacy risks of new voice-enabled technologies. There's no way to totally avoid these sorts of privacy risks except unplugging them entirely, but you can minimize the unpleasant privacy surprises with these tips:

    KILL THE MIC: Most smart speakers have a physical button to disable the microphone, so a private conversation can't be recorded to begin with. You can hit that when you're having sensitive conversations. It doesn't make sense to keep the mic disabled throughout the day, though.

    LIMIT THE MIC: Disabling the microphone isn't practical on a smartphone, but you can limit what apps have access to it. Go to the settings and turn off mic access to all but essential apps such as voice recorders or video conferencing.

    ABOUT THAT CAMERA: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously puts a piece of tape over his laptop's camera to prevent spying if anyone were to hack his device. Buy yourself a roll. Or use bandages. If you have a home-security camera that's connected to the Internet, turn the camera to the wall when you're home.

    BLOCK THE SIGNALS: For smartphones and other gadgets you carry with you, a "Faraday bag" can help prevent unwanted spying. The good ones will block cellular and other signals, meaning privacy-compromising information such as your location won't leak out either. However, your phone won't get any calls while it's in the bag.

    Of course, the safest approach is not to buy a new gadget in the first place. That might not be practical these days, but do you really need a smart speaker or a television set that's connected to the Internet?