Google Home UK is released TODAY- but will you let tech giant’s microphones listen in on YOUR family?
GOOGLE has launched a voice-activated assistant called Home in the UK.
The device is a rival to Amaron's Echo and uses Google Search as well as Maps and Translate to help you get your life in order.
It was launched today (April 6) and costs £129.
The gadget works a bit like Amazon’s Echo and lets you set alarms, organise you calendar and choose music using your voice.
All owners need to do is say the words “OK Google” followed by an order.
Google Home's Suveer Kothari said: "With your permission, Google Home can assist you in planning your day, based on information like your calendar entries or flight information from your Google account.
"But if you'd rather keep things to yourself, you can turn off personal results any time in the Google Home app with a single swipe."
The minute you utter the trigger words "OK Google", your voice is being recorded and stored at Google's HQ.
When the devices are switched on, they are more or less always listening out for owners' orders.
Speech is recorded locally, but is only sent back to Google when owners utter the words "OK Google".
The tech titans insist there’s nothing creepy about installing microphones in ordinary people’s homes.
Yet their reassurances are unlikely to win over people who find it difficult to entirely trust promises made by gigantic corporations with a vested interest in gathering as much data about their customers as possible.
Artificially intelligent voice assistants have become increasingly popular products among technology firms, with Samsung announcing its own take on the subject, Bixby, last week to rival Amazon's Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana and Apple's Siri.
Google Home owners will also be able to use the device to control other smart home products, including light bulbs and thermostats, as well as TVs and other speakers connected using Google's Chromecast devices.
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Home will cost £129 and will be available in a range of colours, Google said.
The tech giant also announced it was launching its Wifi router - Google Wifi - in the UK.
The device, which will also cost £129, uses technology called mesh Wifi, which Google says uses multiple routers to evenly spread internet signal throughout the home.
Voice-activated computers are likely to become commonplace in the coming months and years - but some experts fear they could end up being sexually harassed.
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