Google Forgot to Mention That Its Security Alarm Device Had a Mic

Google’s security alarm device had a microphone built into it but consumers had no idea about it.

File photo of Nest Secure alarm system on display during an event in San Francisco. 

(Photo: AP)

Google this week announced that its security alarm system device Nest will support voice assistant feature. This might have been a regular feature update for one of its device, except that Nest owners didn’t even know the device had a microphone built into it to support this upcoming feature.

After which, Google on Wednesday said it forgot to mention that it included a microphone in its Nest Secure home alarm system. This is the latest goof up from the search giant which is known to access to store personal data of millions of users across the globe.

Seemingly, none of the Nest products are selling in India, but if you have imported the Nest Secure, it’s time you got abreast with this hidden feature on the device.

Google started selling the Nest Secure from last 2017 onwards, and strangely decided to skip mentioning the addition of microphone in its specs sheet. Business Insider first reported the microphone had been missing from the product's description.

Google said in a statement that the omission was a mistake. "The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs," it said.

Trying to pacify its users, Google pointed out, “the microphone hasn't been active since launch, and people have to specifically enable it going forward.”

This isn’t the only major privacy-centric issue that has grappled Google under controversy recently. The search giant, as highlighted in various reports, has been tracking its user’s location, even when the feature is turned off.

Add to that, you have the major bug detected on Google+, which has forced Google to prepone its plans to shut down the product for the end user.

(With inputs from AP)