Recordings
Leaked Google Assistant recordings, many of them made by accident
In July 2019 Belgium's public broadcaster listened to over a thousand Google Assistant recordings, obtained through someone working for a Google contractor. Many were made without the wake word, and addresses and medical questions could be heard.
On 10 July 2019 VRT NWS, the Belgian public broadcaster, reported that it had listened to more than a thousand Google Assistant recordings. A source working for a Google subcontractor had shown its reporters the system. Google had outside language experts transcribe a small share of audio snippets to improve its speech recognition; in Flanders and the Netherlands, around a dozen people listened to the Dutch-language recordings.
Most recordings were deliberate commands, but in 153 cases the wake word had clearly not been said: the device had mistaken something else for it. These included bedroom conversations, parents talking with their children, rows, work phone calls with private information and medical questions. Google separated the snippets from user accounts, but according to VRT the addresses and names that could be heard made it easy to find the people involved. Some were played their own recordings and recognised their voices.
The next day Google acknowledged that one of its language reviewers had broken its data security policies by leaking confidential Dutch audio. It said it had started an investigation, and that its experts review about 0.2 per cent of audio snippets.
A US class action alleged that Assistant devices recorded without the wake word and that recordings reached unauthorised contractors. Google agreed to a $68 million settlement without admitting wrongdoing. The federal court in San Jose gave the settlement final approval on 13 October 2026.
What can we learn from it?
A voice assistant can record whenever it thinks it heard its wake word, and the clip goes to the provider, where people may listen to it. That is no reason to give up on voice tools, only to choose deliberately where they listen. In Confiella the recording does not leave the computer, and the transcript is made locally too. Before a session, one small habit is enough: switch off any listening smart speaker or take it out of the room, and check in the settings whether the provider keeps the audio.
Sources
- VRT NWS: Google employees are eavesdropping, even in your living room, VRT NWS has discovered
- Google: More information about our processes to safeguard speech data
- PPC Land: Google's $68m Assistant privacy settlement wins final court approval
This article is based on the public sources listed. If you find a mistake, write to us: [email protected]