IoTuesday: Amazon Echo Kill Switch
Build a power switch for the Amazon Echo that can be activated from a voice command.
I know quite a few people who refuse to buy an Amazon Echo or Google Home for fear that it is always listening (even police are trying to gain access to Alexa-recorded data to help solve a murder). While they're not wrong, it's not much different than how Google and Amazon have been recording your browsing history for years. I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords assistants.
I would be failing in my duties as an engineer if I didn't find a way to hack or add something to the Echo. So, I made a voice-activated kill switch to quell the fears of the more security-minded folk out there.
The idea is simple: you say a particular phrase, such as "Alexa, trigger kill switch," which activates an IFTTT applet that calls a function on the Particle Photon. The Photon controls a transistor that cuts power to the Echo.
To turn it back on, you'll need to press the button on the breadboard or create another IFTTT applet that causes the Photon to reconnect the power.
If you want to build your own, a full set of instructions can be found on Hackster.
For fun, you can have Alexa respond to different phrases after "Alexa, trigger..." Here are some ideas for you:
- Alexa, trigger incognito mode
- Alexa, trigger self-destruct sequence
- Alexa, trigger get stuffed
- Alexa, trigger go away and never come back
- Alexa, trigger logical paradox
