Hey Alexa, come clean about how much you're really recording us

We're learning an important lesson about cutting-edge voice technology: Amazon's Alexa is always listening. So are Google's Assistant and Apple's Siri.
Putting live microphones in our homes has always been an out-there idea. But tech companies successfully marketed talking speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home to millions by assuring they only record us when we give a "wake word."
That turns out to be a misnomer. These devices are always "awake," passively listening for the command to