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​Google Boss Says Guests Should Know About Voice-Activated Smart Devices Before They Enter Homes

​Google Boss Says Guests Should Know About Voice-Activated Smart Devices Before They Enter Homes

Google's senior vice president of devices and services ​Rick Osterloh says he does so when someone enters his home

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A Google boss has advised people to let guests know if they own a voice-activated smart device - such as Google Nest or Amazon's Alexa - before they enter the home, saying it's something he would do.

In an interview with the BBC marking the launch of Google's Pixel 4 smartphones, a new Nest smart speaker, and various other products, Google's senior vice president of devices and services Rick Osterloh was challenged about whether homeowners should tell guests smart devices are in use before they enter the building.

At first, Osterloh seemed a little stumped by the question, saying he hadn't thought about things 'in quite this way' before.

"It's quite important for all these technologies to think about all users," he said.

"We have to consider all stakeholders that might be in proximity."

Rick Osterloh.
PA

Eventually, however, he concluded that the answer was yes.

He continued: "Does the owner of a home need to disclose to a guest? I would and do when someone enters into my home, and it's probably something that the products themselves should try to indicate."

Osterloh also talked about the new Pixel 4 smartphone, details of which were widely leaked before its release.

He explained that, while the team at Google were happy about users' enthusiasm and excitement for the product, the way information is fed to the public is something they'd be addressing for future releases.

He said: "Unfortunately that shows a little bit of our adolescence in that we have to make sure we're reducing the amount of unintentional information disclosed.

"At some level, we're at least happy people care and desire this information. But we do want to try to reduce leaks in the future."

The super smart phone - which features radars that enable users to control the device with hand gestures - was officially launched in New York on Tuesday.

Thanks to its 'Motion Sense' capability, users will be able to skip songs, snooze alarms and silence phone calls with a simple wave of the hand.

You can also unlock the phone with your face. Sabrina Ellis, vice president of product management at Google, said at the launch: "Pixel 4 has the fastest secure face unlock on a smartphone, because the process starts before you've even picked up your phone.

"Motion Sense prepares the camera when you reach for your Pixel 4 so you don't need to tap the screen."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Google, News, Technology