# Could you use a random smartphone quickly? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307 "2024-03-25T00:05:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/21 "2024-03-25T14:14:58Z")
I’ve taken pictures of lots of random strangers in parks and stuff. I must look approachable. But that’s easy, because they hand you the phone already in camera mode. Aim, Frame, and Click. Repeat a couple of times to increase the odds of getting a good one. Then hand the phone back. I believe I could dial 911 on almost any random phone in the US in a few seconds. I’ve never tested that, though. I’ve used a few different phones, and never had any major issues. The most trouble I ever had, weirdly, was with an iPad. I somehow got it into “jiggle mode” and couldn’t get it back to normal. I had to use another device to google what to do. But I DID successfully do that. Give me a new device and an internet connected device that I know how to use, and I’ll figure out how to use the new device. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/22 "2024-03-25T23:16:36Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > The Pixel 7 made me program the side button to turn the screen of and on lol! I also had to get used to the swiping feature as it has no back button. Not a huge deal but a tad annoying. You can have the back button still. It’s just a software button – go to Display, scroll down to Navigation, choose 3 Button Navigation. > [@zbuzz](#): > > And now you know a reason they could be useful. Having that option in the unlikely event of an emergency where it would matter is not worth the downside of having my phone always listening to me, and sometimes butting in for no reason. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Give me a new device and an internet connected device that I know how to use, and I’ll figure out how to use the new device. Yeah, I had an old dumb phone that got switched into another language at one point. I had to look up the sequence of buttons to push to get back to the language settings so I could change it back. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/23 "2024-03-26T00:13:25Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Having that option in the unlikely event of an emergency where it would matter is not worth the downside of having my phone always listening to me It might be listening to you, but it isn’t telling anyone anything you’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/24 "2024-03-26T10:59:29Z")
Oh? That’s what Amazon used to say, too. > [@](#): > > In 2016, [The Information reported](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/amazon-echo-and-the-hot-tub-murder) that Arkansas police had asked Amazon for data from an Echo device in order to help prosecute a suspect. While it is understandable that police need help in investigating certain cases, it does suggest that smart speakers—including Amazon Echo devices—gather large amounts of data. > > In a similar incident from 2018, the [Kiro 7 TV station reported](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/woman-says-her-amazon-device-recorded-private-conversation-sent-it-out-to-random-contact/755507974/) that an Amazon Echo device had recorded a couple’s conversation and sent it to one of the husband’s employees. Amazon has since stated that this was an extremely unusual set of circumstances, and that nothing like this should ever happen again. > > Things got more troubling in 2019 when it was reported that thousands of Amazon staff listen to users’ voice clips a day. In a [Time article](https://time.com/5568815/amazon-workers-listen-to-alexa/), it was stated that user voice recordings are “transcribed, annotated and then fed back into the software as part of an effort to eliminate gaps in Alexa’s understanding of human speech and help it better respond to commands.” > > It was also stated that staff listen to “as many as 1,000 audio clips per shift,” which would mean that humans are accessing huge swathes of voice recordings. However, this is done to train Alexa’s software, developing it so that it can better understand human speech. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/25 "2024-03-26T22:20:49Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Oh? That’s what Amazon used to say, too. I guess I wasn’t clear. What I meant was, it’s always listening to you but it isn’t always sending information back telling anyone anything you’re saying. There is not a continuous feed of your conversations back to its servers. Some people here seem to think that’s the case. Also, most of your examples are for smart speaker Echo devices, not phones. To bring this hijack about privacy back to the discussion (somewhat), it looks like you can’t use an Echo to call 911 directly without additional add-on hardware. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/26 "2024-03-27T18:38:39Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Also, most of your examples are for smart speaker Echo devices, not phones. All of my examples are for Amazon devices, not mobile phones. My point was that Amazon also said it did not _listen to users_ with their devices, but we can see how honest that was. I don’t trust the relevant companies to not do the same or similar. What other voice clips are they going to train their AIs on? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/27 "2024-03-27T19:29:28Z")
**Could you use a random smartphone quickly?** Probably not. Can’t use my own phone all that quickly. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/28 "2024-03-27T22:04:28Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > My point was that Amazon also said it did not _listen to users_ with their devices, but we can see how honest that was. When you say Amazon said it “did not listen to users,” what exactly do you mean by this? Amazon’s smart speakers, devices, etc have to listen to you in order to function, so I find it difficult to believe Amazon would ever say such a thing. So are you saying they denied storing audio files of user requests? Or denied using human review? Could you post a link to where you’re saying they said they did not listen to users? > [@eschrodinger](#): > > I don’t trust the relevant companies to not do the same or similar. What other voice clips are they going to train their AIs on? That’s fine, but AI chatbots scraping the internet for their large language models might very well be training on everything you’re writing on this message board (or anything else you’ve posted on the web), but that’s not going to stop you from posting here, is it? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/29 "2024-03-27T22:38:58Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > To bring this hijack about privacy back to the discussion (somewhat), it looks like you can’t use an Echo to call 911 directly without additional add-on hardware. That is both confusing and non obvious. (But correct) But a lot of the experience is confusing and non obvious. Our Alexa device can and does connect with my spouse’s phone. It can dial her contacts, or (I think) a number specified, and it can call her phone. But apparently, you can’t even get it to dial 9-1-1 if you’ve saved it as a contact? We’ve been assuming we could tell it to dial 9-1-1, and that our kids could use it for that in a dire emergency. (Most things they just call us.) Anyway, that’s really odd. So, not directly a smartphone, but unexpectedly would not be able to use in an emergency other than to call a contact, even though it is linked to a cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/30 "2024-03-27T23:13:01Z")
My only phone is a landline using VOIP. When I first got it I was switching from AT&T at $65/month to VOIP at $30/year so I thought I’d splurge and get the 911 service for an extra $10/year. I dropped the 911 service after the first year. It doesn’t disable 911 (probably by law) but says something like "If you dial 911 you MAY be charged by your local EMS service. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/31 "2024-03-28T04:36:09Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > That’s fine, but AI chatbots scraping the internet for their large language models might very well be training on everything you’re writing on this message board (or anything else you’ve posted on the web), but that’s not going to stop you from posting here, is it? No, but I know this posting is public. Anyone can see it and glean whatever from it they wish. There are limits around what it can be used for, but those limits are mostly not for me to enforce. > [@zbuzz](#): > > When you say Amazon said it “did not listen to users,” what exactly do you mean by this? Amazon’s smart speakers, devices, etc have to listen to you in order to function, so I find it difficult to believe Amazon would ever say such a thing. So are you saying they denied storing audio files of user requests? Or denied using human review? Could you post a link to where you’re saying they said they did not listen to users? I misspoke. Or, mistyped, I guess. My point where I referred to Amazon not listening was meant to be about the uses and storage of recordings. That’s what the article snippet I posted was about as well. I don’t think anyone would be very surprised if their orders placed through Alexa were stored temporarily in audio form. But I think people have been surprised and unhappy about other recordings and uses, like police being able to obtain audio recordings of private conversations inside people’s homes that have nothing to do with any Alexa-directed request. I’m a little confused now by what your point might be. Someone said they disable the voice assistant on their phone because they don’t find them useful. I said I do the same because I don’t want my phone to be listening to me at all times. You responded that it’s not like it’s “telling anyone anything you’re saying.” I posted examples of Amazon telling third parties things the customers said that were not even directed to the device. Then you said it’s not like it’s sending a continuous stream back to Amazon, which I don’t get the relevance of at all. My decision about not wanting to have my phone listening at all times was not based on whether or not someone is monitoring it 24/7. It’s exactly about the kinds of things in the Amazon article. So, yes, voice assistants/their companies who “listen” for voice commands do sometimes tell others what they’ve heard when what they’ve heard has nothing to do with the voice assistant’s purpose. No they don’t do it 24/7. That in no way convinces me that I should enable those assistants on my devices. Because my original reason stands. So, yeah, for phones that have Siri or the Google assistant enabled, you may be able to use the assistant to call 9-1-1. But some people have those “features” disabled. You are not likely to change those people’s minds using the things you’ve said here. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/32 "2024-03-29T13:16:47Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > That’s fine, but AI chatbots scraping the internet for their large language models might very well be training on everything you’re writing on this message board (or anything else you’ve posted on the web), but that’s not going to stop you from posting here, is it? I have never posted here with my real name , phone number and address. Sure, a detective might be able to identify me, but it’s not auomatic. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/33 "2024-03-30T08:10:29Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > They takes heaps of selfies with their smiling face and those of their adoring fans. It doesn’t seem to matter what phone they are handed. If I want somebody to take a selfie with my phone, I already get it ready and then there’s just a big button on the screen to press. I expect most people handing their phones to somone would do the same. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307/34 "2024-03-30T12:00:33Z")
Yup. I’m really bad at framing selfies, but lots of random people have handed me their phone so i can take a photo of them at some scenic place. And they always put it into photo mode before they hand it to me, so all i need to do is frame the picture on the screen and hit the obvious button. It’s easy. And it would be easy for anyone who has ever taken a photo with ANY modern phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-use-a-random-smartphone-quickly/999307.md?page=1)