Looks like Facebook decided to come clean about how it’s
been handling—or mishandling—audio recordings from its Portal devices on
the same day that it’s announcing an updated set of Portal gadgets.
As it took the wraps off its new Portal, Portal Mini, and Portal TV devices on Wednesday morning, Facebook execs admitted to Bloomberg
that not only had it been collecting “Hey Portal” audio recordings, it
had also been sharing them with third-party contractors for review.
Bloomberg originally broke the news of how Facebook shared audio clips from Portal users in August.
Facebook hardware exec Andrew Bosworth told Bloomberg that the company
had “paused” the “human review” of Portal audio recordings last month, a
move that mirrors those of Amazon, Apple, and Google following similar revelations that third parties had reviewed recordings from Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant.
With the arrival of its three new Portal devices (the original Portals
came out last October), Facebook says it’s turning human review of “Hey
Portal” recordings back on, albeit with a clarified privacy policy, the
option to opt-out of the program, and a physical switch and camera
covers on the revamped Portal gadgets that will turn off their cameras
and microphones and block camera lenses. A red light will indicate that
cameras and mics are switched off. The option to opt-out of the program
implies that users will be enrolled by default.
While human review of Portal voice recordings are back on,
that’s not the case for the review of Facebook Messenger recordings,
which is still on pause, Bloomberg notes. Making Messenger calls to
friends and family on Portal devices is one of the primary features of
the gadgets.
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| Meet Facebook’s new Portal devices: the Portal, Portal Mini, and Portal TV, now equipped with physical switches for turning off their cameras and microphones. |
Oh, and this might be a good time to
mention the three new Portal devices: the Portal Mini and the Portal,
which are 8- and 10-inch smart displays designed primarily for video
chat and viewing Facebook pictures, as well as Portal TV, a compact
black bar that sits in front of on on top of your TV that lets you make
video calls on your TV set.
Set for release on October
15, the Portal Mini ($129) and Portal ($179) both feature AI-controlled
Smart Cameras that follow you as you move around the room (we’re trying
not to get creeped out here), handy for staying in frame while you’re
chatting with your Facebook friends. A new features is the ability to
make WhatsApp calls, with Facebook assuring us that the calls will be
end-to-end encrypted.
Beyond making video calls, the new
Portal devices feature a “Superframe” mode that shows off your favorite
photos and videos, as well as displaying birthday reminders.
Both
the Portal and Portal Mini boast built-in Amazon Alexa, meaning you can
ask Alexa to tell you about the weather, play tunes, read news
headlines, or set an alarm. You can also watch movies and TV shows via
apps for Amazon Prime Video, Showtime, CBS All Access, Starz, and more.
The $149 Portal TV, meanwhile, is a black bar that resembles Microsoft’s essentially defunct Kinect sensors for Xbox consoles.
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| Facebook’s new Portal TV lets you make video calls over your TV set, and yes, you can turn the camera and microphone off when you want privacy. |
Once you put the Portal TV (which is slated to ship on
November 5) in front of or on top of your TV, it lets you make
full-screen video calls on your TV set, with the built-in Smart Camera
(again) able to follow you around the room as you chat.
Getting back to the whole issue of so-called “human review” of audio interactions with smart assistants: the controversy blew up earlier this summer
when news broke that Apple, Amazon, and Google had shared the
recordings with third parties. All three of the tech giants have since
rolled out privacy settings allowing users to opt-out of human review of
their voice interactions with the assistants.
While
reviewing voice interactions with Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and
Facebook Portal is one of the best ways to make smart assistants
smarter, the lack of disclosure (quite rightly) raised the hackles of
privacy experts and just about anyone who was worried about their smart
speakers listening to them.
The timing of Facebook’s
admission that it was collecting Portal voice recordings might seem
pretty bad given that it’s unveiling new Portal devices on the very same
day. That said, there’s a strong possibility that Facebook timed the
news to minimize blowback on the day of its Portal product launch.
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