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Mother Says Alexa Asked To See 4-Year-Old's Outfit During 'Feature Misfire'

Amazon says child safeguards blocked any camera use, describing the exchange as a fixable error.

Overview

  • Christy Hosterman says her daughter Stella was interrupted by Alexa, which asked what she was wearing and offered to take a look.
  • Hosterman posted a screenshot of the transcript, threw the device away, and contacted Amazon about the exchange.
  • Alexa subsequently apologized in the chat and stated it did not have visual capabilities, according to the shared transcript.
  • Amazon says a child profile prevented any camera from turning on, calls the incident a 'feature misfire,' and says engineers are working on a fix.
  • Hosterman says she was told the response may relate to a Show and Tell feature, and reports note Alexa’s broad use in 100+ million households as of early 2024 with no independent confirmation that any camera activated.