Voice assistants made popular by Amazon and Google are seemingly everywhere in the home - from internet-connected refrigerators, to toilets and lightbulbs.
They bring with them the benefit of convenience as a growing number of users can now complete everyday tasks, like locking their door or turning on the light, with just their voice.
But the always-on nature of internet-connected devices has raised some concerns over just how much data these applications are collecting and what they're doing with it, according to Bloomberg.
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A woman is seen controlling her Philips Hue smart lightbulb with her voice assistant. Concerns have grown around how much data these applications are collecting and how it's being used
In the past, if users asked Alexa to turn on their smart bulb, Alexa would transmit code to the device to check if it was on or off, receive confirmation that it was off and then tell it to turn on, Bloomberg noted.
However, increasingly, Google and Amazon are requiring devicemakers to make it so that their appliances are continuously transmitting data around whether they're off or on.
It likely extends to many internet-connected devices around the home, like smart TVs, smart locks, smart thermostats and more.
The practice has thrown into question whether or not users are totally aware of this.
What's more concerning is that it raises the possibility of Google and Amazon using the data for the purpose of targeted marketing.
Experts fear Google and Amazon could be collecting mass amounts of users' smart appliance data for targeted advertising purposes. As an example, if Amazon becomes aware of when your child goes to bed by looking at the time their smart light bulb is turned off, it could use that data to push related products to the user, such as an app for nursery rhymes
As an example, if Amazon becomes aware of when your child goes to bed by looking at the time their smart lightbulb is turned off, it could use that data to push related products to the user, such as an app for nursery rhymes.
What does Google's Voice Assistant record?
Google's Voice Assistant could be recording everything you say.
As part of this process, Google keeps copies of clips made each time you activate it, but it has emerged that background chatter could be enough to trigger recording.
MailOnline has received a number of transcripts of conversations that show how Voice Assistant may be recording your conversations without you knowing.
One example from an anonymous user appears to have registered the code to their back door entry system, while chatting with a friend.
A written transcript of the
