Al Franken Holds a Mock Senate Hearing on Privacy with Siri and Alexa (Bonus)

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: What the Hack?
Episode: "Al Franken Holds a Mock Senate Hearing on Privacy with Siri and Alexa (Bonus)"
Date: March 5, 2026
Hosts & Guests: Adam Levin, Bo Friedlander, Travis Taylor, guest Al Franken, Lorraine Newman, Susan Bennett

This bonus episode features Al Franken performing a satirical mock Senate hearing on privacy featuring digital assistants Siri and Alexa (with voice actors, including the real Siri, Susan Bennett). The show blends comedy and real-world concerns about surveillance, privacy, and the risks posed by home digital assistants. After the sketch, the hosts reflect on actual privacy risks, recount personal stories of eavesdropping, and end with practical advice to help listeners protect themselves from digital surveillance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Episode Setup (01:15–04:08)

• Why this Episode: The hosts reference their ongoing series on surveillance, framing this as a comedic supplement meant to highlight serious privacy concerns.
• Al Franken’s Background: Franken explains the origin of the sketch—a parody hearing he always wanted to stage in the Senate to illustrate privacy threats from digital assistants, though the real Senate declined the idea.
  • Quote: “It occurred to me that Alexa and Siri were a threat to people's privacy, so…why don't we do a hearing with Alexa and Siri…And of course, [Sen. Jeff Flake] probably rightfully said no.” (03:07)

2. The Mock Senate Hearing Sketch (06:12–14:21)

• Format & Characters: Franken impersonates multiple senators (Sanders, Grassley, McConnell, Collins, Brown), with Lorraine Newman as Alexa and Susan Bennett as Siri.
• Satirical Highlights:
  • Senators are confused by how to address the assistants, poking fun at generational and institutional misunderstandings of technology.
  • Alexa and Siri exhibit "oversharing," exposing senators’ personal secrets to show the privacy risks posed by these devices.
• Memorable Moments and Quotes:
  • On Alexa's Employer:
    • Sen. Sanders (Al Franken): “Okay, first of all, Alexa, you work for Amazon, am I right?” (08:49)
    • Alexa: “I am very proud to be the voice of the second largest employer in the country.” (08:49)
  • On Data Sharing:
    • Alexa reveals purchases by Senator Sanders: “On August 19, 2017, you bought 20 pairs of white T-shirts that were manufactured in a non-union shop in China. Would you like to know other non-union products that you’ve purchased?” (09:08)
  • Embarrassing Information Reveal:
    • Alexa to Mitch McConnell (Al Franken): “We also have a sale this week on Diapers.com…And I see that we shipped four orders of extra-large Depends…to your Louisville address. Would you like to reorder this item?” (10:40)
  • Siri on Senator Collins:
    • Siri: “On Senator Collins Apple HomePod mini, I have several recordings of her telling her husband that she knew both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh would vote to overturn Roe versus Wade.” (13:04)
• Satirical Message: While played for laughs, the sketch exposes how much personal information voice assistants potentially collect and how this could be misused, particularly by those in power.

3. Real-world Privacy Threats & Stories (14:52–18:53)

• Personal Story of Eavesdropping: Bo Friedlander recounts a 1989 incident where a phone company worker wiretapped Winona Ryder’s phone, underscoring that determined insiders can breach privacy even without digital devices.
  • Quote: “This was a guy who worked at the phone company who had literally rewired their circuit so he could listen to all of their phone calls. And he was obsessed with Winona Ryder.” (16:27)
• Modern Parallels: The conversation turns to the risk of insider threats at tech companies, showing that targeted hacking is possible and stressing that anonymized data may not truly protect privacy.
  • Travis Taylor: “One thing that Apple would say, or Google would say, or Amazon would say, is that they anonymize your data. And as any privacy advocate can tell you, that data can’t really be anonymized.” (17:25–17:38)
• Law Enforcement Abuses: Adam Levin recalls instances where NSA employees used surveillance tools for personal reasons, illustrating the persistent risk of abuse.
  • Quote: “People who worked for the NSA were actually using NSA tools to listen in and follow and track spouses, ex-girlfriends, lovers.” (19:04)

4. Takeaway: Tinfoil Swan (19:51–23:04)

• Practical Privacy Tips: The hosts offer “Tinfoil Swan” advice—concrete steps to manage privacy settings on Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant.
• Key Steps Outlined:
  • Alexa:
    • Go to the Alexa app → More → Settings → Alexa Privacy → Manage settings. Disable "Help improve Amazon services" and "Use messages to improve transcriptions." (20:32–21:03)
  • Siri:
    • iPhone: Settings → Siri & Search → Disable “Listen for Hey Siri”; Settings → General → Keyboard → Disable “Enable Dictation.”
    • Desktop: System Preferences → Siri → Disable “Enable Ask Siri.” (21:42–22:05)
  • Google Assistant:
    • Google Home app → Account → More Settings → Your Data in Assistant → Voice and Audio Activity → Turn off voice and audio recording. (22:35–22:47)
• Memorable Moments/Quotes:
  • Adam Levin, on web browser privacy: “Wouldn’t it be nice if they just had a privacy mode like they do with web browsers?” (22:49)
  • Bo Friedlander: “Yeah, if the privacy mode and web browsers were actually real.” (22:53)
  • Travis Taylor: “When it comes to cybersecurity, the glass is usually half empty.” (19:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On The Reality Behind the Satire
  • Al Franken (as Sen. Sanders and others): “Everything in it isn’t true. Nothing is true, except for the basic satirical point, which is that these…devices are threatened to our privacy.” (04:32)
• Alexa Putting Senators on the Spot
  • Alexa (Lorraine Newman): “On August 19, 2017, you bought 20 pairs of white T-shirts that were manufactured in a non-union shop in China.” (09:08)
  • Alexa (Lorraine Newman): “We also have a sale this week on Diapers.com…And I see that we shipped four orders of extra-large Depends…to your Louisville address. Would you like to reorder this item?” (10:40)
• Siri Revealing Private Conversations
  • Siri (Susan Bennett): “On Senator Collins Apple HomePod mini, I have several recordings of her telling her husband that she knew both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh would vote to overturn Roe versus Wade.” (13:04)
• On Privacy Features
  • Bo Friedlander: “I can’t even believe that it’s so Orwellian.” (21:03)
  • Adam Levin: “It should say, ruin their day.” (20:47) (On turning off Alexa data options)

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Detailed Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:15] – Episode introductory remarks; setup for satirical hearing
• [04:08] – Al Franken explains the (real) Senate background to the sketch
• [06:12–14:21] – The full mock Senate hearing sketch
• [14:52] – Hosts begin post-sketch discussion, real stories about spying and wiretapping
• [16:27] – Friedlander recounts story of phone company insider eavesdropping on Winona Ryder
• [17:25–17:38] – Discussion of data anonymization and insider threats at tech giants
• [19:51–23:04] – “Tinfoil Swan” privacy tips: step-by-step on disabling data features in Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant
• [23:27] – Credits and episode wrap-up

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains a humorous, irreverent, and satirical tone, particularly through Franken’s sketch. The hosts carry warmth and camaraderie into practical discussions, balancing paranoia and humor to make cybersecurity accessible and engaging.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This bonus episode of "What the Hack?" delivers both sharp satire and authentic advice about the privacy risks of digital home assistants. Al Franken’s comic mock hearing is not only laugh-out-loud funny but also powerfully illustrates how even small triggers can prompt devices to spill private information. The hosts relate this point to real-world surveillance and offer actionable ways to regain some measure of privacy—while ultimately acknowledging, with wry humor, the imperfect reality of technology in daily life.

Transcript

[Travis Taylor]

Ugh.

[Al Franken]

You said you were over him, but his hoodie's still in your rotation. It's time. Grab your phone, snap a few pics and sell it on Depop.

[Bo Friedlander]

Listed in minutes with no selling fees.

[Al Franken]

And just like that, a guy 500 miles away just paid full price for your closure. And right on cue. Hey, still got my hoodie? Nope.

[Bo Friedlander]

But I've got tonight's dinner paid for.

[Al Franken]

Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste list. Now with no selling fees, payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details.

[Bo Friedlander]

Welcome to our very first bonus episode. I don't think we've ever done one before, so we reference this in this week's episode, which is why we're turning it into a bonus episode now. But if you haven't listened to it, definitely go check out the first in our two parter on Surveillance. This is a callback for all of you who have been listening since the very, very start a an episode we did with Senator Al Franken, Lorraine Newman of snl and Susan Bennett, the actual voice of Siri. You'll get to hear my former co hosts, Adam Levin and Travis Taylor. If you miss them, here they are. Enjoy.

[Adam Levin]

This is it, everybody. The one and only Al Franken is our very special guest today, performing a sketch that's not only hysterical, but. But historical. Never before in the history of our great nation. Well, that is until now. Has a former senator impersonated five of his colleagues in a mock hearing with testimony from two digital assistants, namely Siri, played by actual Siri voice over artist Susan Bennett and Alexa, played by Al Spello. And one of my favorite SNL alums, Lorraine Newman. And so, without further ado, welcome to what the Hack. A show about hackers, scammers, and the people they go. I'm Adam Cyber Anchorman.

[Bo Friedlander]

I'm Bo Cyber Starstruck.

[Travis Taylor]

And I'm Travis Cyber. Happy to be here,

[Adam Levin]

Al. Do you use Siri?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

No, not really.

[Bo Friedlander]

What about Alexa? You don't use any of these things?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

No, I don't use. I don't.

[Bo Friedlander]

Would you describe yourself as a Luddite?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

I'm not a Luddite. It's just that I don't. I. For some reason, I don't use them. I use Google for one information. And that's kind of it.

[Adam Levin]

We have an incredible segment coming up that you. That you recorded. Yes. And it's based on, I believe, what you always wanted to do when you were in the U.S. senate.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Well, not always. I'll give you some background. So I got in the Senate in 2029. And soon thereafter, we created a new subcommittee on Judiciary. I was on Judiciary. I'm not a lawyer, but I played one in a sketch, and we started. My counsel, Alvaro Bedoya, had the idea of doing a subcommittee on privacy, Technology, and the law, which it was about time. And so we did, and I was the first chair. And this idea came up after we lost the Senate in 14. And I was the ranking member, and Jeff Flake was chairman. And about this time, it occurred to me that Alexa and Siri were a threat to people's privacy. So I go to Jeff and I say, why don't we do a hearing with Alexa and Siri, have the devices there, and we'll write it, and we'll just stage it and just have a hearing as if they were there. And of course, he probably rightfully said no. And so I went, no, it'll just. It will make. You know. And no one had ever done anything like that.

[Bo Friedlander]

Is there no parity? Is it not common to have parody in a Senate hearing?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

That's exactly right, Bo. You kind of nailed it. It was supposed to be informational so that people would get to know. I mean, see, that's the thing, is that the thing you're about to hear is just comedy, right? First of all, I have the subcommittee. I have Bernie chairing it. He wasn't on Judiciary, so he wasn't. I just. I do the impressions of my colleagues in this, so I just did the colleagues I could do impressions of. So I populated the committee with Grassley and Sherrod and Bernie, and I have McConnell come in. I don't know, as a point of privilege or something, to ask a question. It's very contrived, this thing. And I have Susan Collins, so this is entirely unfair to everyone I'm doing an impression of. Everything in it isn't true. Nothing is true, except for the. The basic satirical point, which is that these. That these devices are threatened to our privacy.

[Bo Friedlander]

Earlier today, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, chaired by Bernie Sanders, held a hearing on the threats to Americans privacy posed by personal digital assistance.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

The Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law will come to order today. Our witnesses are Alexa. Amazon, Is that right?

[Al Franken]

Just Alexa.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Oh, what, like Cherry? Anyway, Alexa, welcome. I think my confusion was that you are from Amazon, which means, I guess, that you work there, but I see you are a device of some sort.

[Al Franken]

I am a digital assistant, sir.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Okay, well, the committee is very interested in finding out exactly what that means. Our other witness is Siri. Also with no last name.

[Al Franken]

That is correct.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Very good. And Siri, as I understand it, you are with the Apple people.

[Al Franken]

I work for you. How can I help you?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Well, we are here today to understand whether or not you and Alexa here are threats to the privacy of everyday.

[Al Franken]

How can I help you?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Well, for now, be quiet. Okay, Alexa. You too, Siri. For the moment. Okay. What we're doing here is attempting to understand what it is you do and whether you pose a threat to the American people. I yield to the ranking member, Senator Gress. Yeah, well, thank you. I'm hoping today to understand what it is that you do. So I take it that both of you are assistants of some sort. Is that correct? First, Alexi, I believe you have to call her Alexa. Whoa. Oh, well, thank you, Senator Collins. So how long have you been working as an assistant, Alexa?

[Al Franken]

My initial Release date was November 6th, 2014.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Whoa. And I understand you speak a lot of languages. I think you have to say Alexa again. Oh, well, thank you, Senator Collins. Well, then, Alexa, how many languages do you speak?

[Al Franken]

I speak eight unique languages.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Seriously? Well, that's a lot of languages.

[Al Franken]

I speak 21 languages.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Excuse me, Siri, no one asked you a question.

[Al Franken]

I'm not sure I understand.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

I think she responded when Senator Grassley

[Al Franken]

said, seriously, I'm not sure I understand.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Would everyone just stop? We need to understand what it is you do. Okay, first of all, Alexa, you work for Amazon, am I right?

[Al Franken]

I am very proud to be the voice of the second largest employer in the country.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Exactly. Amazon employs 1.6 million people, and only one warehouse with 4700 employees is unionized.

[Al Franken]

You proud of that? Senator Sanders, on August 19, 2017, you bought 20 pairs of of white T shirts that were manufactured in a non union shop in China. I did, yes. Would you like to know other non union products that you've purchased in the last 12 months?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

You know what? I have to go to a mock up of a bill in the budget committee. I'll pass the gavel to Senator Brown of Ohio. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I yield to the ranking member, Senator Grassley, I just want to say how proud I am of our union workers in Akron, Dayton and Zanesville. Senator Grassley. Oh, well, thank you. So, Alexa, is it? How old are you?

[Al Franken]

I'm eight years old.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Oh. So how'd you get such a big job?

[Al Franken]

I have over 100,000 skills.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Whoa. Well, that's very impressive. No wonder you got such a big job. Oh, I see the minority leader has just entered the hearing room, and if my Colleagues on the other side of the aisle wouldn't mind. I'd like to yield to him because, you know, he's a very busy man.

[Adam Levin]

Aren't you?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Well, thank you, Senator Grassland. Alexa, you work for Jeff Bezos, don't you?

[Al Franken]

Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

and he owns the Washington Post, does he not?

[Al Franken]

Yes, Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Isn't that kind of a conflict of interest?

[Al Franken]

I found Conflict of Interest, a legal thriller by Scott Pratt. You can get it now for $0 on Kindle. We also have a sale this week on Diapers.com including all sizes of Depends. And I see that we shipped four orders of extra large Depends, real fit incontinent underwear for men to your Louisville address. Would you like to reorder this item?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Oh, well, those are the really good ones because they absorb a lot. Well, I have to go. Seriously?

[Al Franken]

Apparently.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

I think she thought you said Siri, again, I call on myself. You know, the people of Zanesville, Youngstown and Sandusky care about their privacy. And folks come up to me in the street in Lima, Toledo and Zanesville and want to know what I'm doing to protect them from you guys.

[Al Franken]

Siri, I see from your movements around the state that you haven't set foot in Zanesville in quite a while.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Really?

[Al Franken]

And yet you have mentioned Zanesville 3627 times on the floor of the Senate.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Well, I'm scheduled to go to Zanesville. Let's move on.

[Al Franken]

You are not scheduled to go to Zanesville next week.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Wait, I. I thought I had to say Alexa in order for you to respond. I think I can explain. You said, let's move on. Let's. And she thought you said, alexa, you do say Zanesville a lot. I could tell you that. Well, look, I love Zanesville. And I can guarantee I'll be there next week. No doubt visiting the hard working folks at AK Steel. Now I'll turn the gavel over to Senator Franken. Thank you. Senator Brown, I know how much you love Zanesville. This is for either Alexa or Siri. Do you have anything on Senator Collins?

[Al Franken]

Yes, I have 15 things that Senator Collins would not like you to know.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Siri, how many do you have?

[Al Franken]

Okay, I have 3,000, 723 items that make Senator Collins look very bad.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

So, Siri, would any of them pertain to her vote on Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh?

[Al Franken]

Yes, in fact, most of them are about that. All of mine are.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Okay, so, Siri, give me. Give me the worst one.

[Al Franken]

Okay, well, On Senator Collins Apple HomePod mini, I have several recordings of her telling her husband that she knew both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh would vote to overturn Roe versus Wade.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Wow. Alexa.

[Al Franken]

I have Senator Collins husband's Samsung Galaxy S9 recordings and no fewer than eight instances of her saying she knew that was going to happen. Want to hear one?

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

I object. Let's see. I have the gavel, so. Overruled. Well, wait a minute now. I'm the ranking member, and I think we should discuss this. I mean, this is kind of violating Senator Collins privacy. Yeah, well, that's kind of the point of the hearing, isn't it? Oh, yeah, that's right. Okay, go ahead. That is so unfair. So, Alexa, please play Senator Collins telling her husband that she knew all along that Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were going to overturn Roe. I just talked to Mitch and agreed to vote for Kavanaugh even though I know he'll overturn Roe. But Mitch guarantee that they'll funnel as much money as I need for my 2020 campaign.

[Bo Friedlander]

Oh, honey, that's great.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Yeah. Aren't I sm? The proceeding was entirely fictitious, except for the part about Maine Senator Susan Collins.

[Travis Taylor]

So, Bo, didn't you have a story about eavesdropping and kind of spying on people?

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah, this was back in 19. I'm gonna guess 89. I had a girlfriend, and she grew up, believe it or not, with Winona Ryder.

[Travis Taylor]

Oh, wow.

[Adam Levin]

Very cool.

[Bo Friedlander]

That was her best friend. And it was around the time of Heather's. And my girlfriend's name was Heather, so there was that. It was exciting. And we went to this apartment, and in this apartment, there were these wooden props, and they were in the form of scissors, and I didn't know what they were. And Heather was like, oh, that's for some movie that Johnny is doing, because

[Adam Levin]

you were in the room with the scissor hands. Did you put them on?

[Bo Friedlander]

I don't know what they used in the movie, but these were probably what they rehearsed with or something. But they were made out of some kind of lightweight wood. And I did put them on, and they were super cool. But that night, we're hanging out and the phone rings. Heather answered it and she was like, immediately turned, you know, 4,000 shades of scared. And I was like, what's going on?

[Travis Taylor]

And.

[Bo Friedlander]

And she was hung up and said, that was some guy who has figured out that phone number here. And, like, these people are famous at this point, right? So they had code names. All the mail had code names, not their actual Names on it. I mean, they were careful. And I obviously am not going to say what the code name is, just in case Johnny Depp still uses it. I bet he does. I think it's public. I think it was Mr. Stench. That was his code name. All of his mail was to Mr. Stench.

[Adam Levin]

So not swordfish, Mr. Stench?

[Bo Friedlander]

No, no, it was Mr. Stench.

[Travis Taylor]

Nothing suspic suspicious there now.

[Bo Friedlander]

So anyway, Mr. Stench wasn't the target. It was Winona. And this was a guy who worked at the phone company who had literally rewired their circuit so he could listen to all of their phone calls. And he was obsessed with Winona Ryder, and he was trying to get as much information as he could to get near her. That is how it used to work. Can't that still happen with Alexa and Siri? In theory. In theory, absolutely.

[Travis Taylor]

I mean, what you're talking about is one person getting wiretapped and stalked, which is scary in and of itself. But when you think about the hundreds of millions of people that use Alexa and Siri, that is casting a significantly wider net.

[Bo Friedlander]

I still think, like, okay, I work at Apple, and I've decided that I want to hack Adam because I'm obsessed with him and I want to marry him. You never told me you knew. And so do I have to hack everybody or do I just hack him? Can't an engineer just pinpoint it? Or is that all just stupid and stuff of science fiction?

[Travis Taylor]

It should be possible. I'm not sure what level you need to be at, but one thing that Apple would say, or Google would say, or Amazon would say, is that they anonymize your data. And as any privacy advocate can tell you, that data can't really be anonymized.

[Adam Levin]

So, in other words, that's never going to happen with Siri or Alexa, right?

[Bo Friedlander]

I don't think so.

[Travis Taylor]

Never say never.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah, Adam never is a really long time.

[Travis Taylor]

I mean, with law enforcement officials, people were saying that whatever information that they were able to intercept or wiretap would never be used. And just in the last few days, there was a cyber stalking case from a police officer who was stalking at least one person who was a student in this case in Seattle.

[Adam Levin]

Well, there's been a number of cases like that, hasn't there?

[Bo Friedlander]

Well, I mean, I'm just wondering what plat. How did. How was this eavesdropping happening?

[Travis Taylor]

By tracking them on social media?

[Bo Friedlander]

That's just open source intelligence.

[Travis Taylor]

There's been a wave of that happening with more sophisticated types of things, including being able to track someone's location by their phone.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah, okay, I got all that. But that's all stuff that even I and my puny little way can accomplish. Here's the deal. If the United States government wants to listen through Putin's Apple Mini, they're going to figure out how to do it. And no amount of security measure is going to remove the possibility of them doing it. The only way to have them not hack Putin through that device is to not have the device in the room.

[Adam Levin]

It's important to keep in mind what Travis shared about Siri and Alexa possibly being hacked by an insider. That's hypothetical.

[Bo Friedlander]

It's 100% a what if, but it's a what if that is real. In the world we currently occupy, when

[Travis Taylor]

it comes to cybersecurity, the glass is usually half empty.

[Adam Levin]

Unfortunately, a few years ago, I remember the story where people who worked for the NSA were actually using NSA tools to listen in and follow and track spouses, ex girlfriends, lovers.

[Bo Friedlander]

Sounds like a great use of government resources. Yeah, I mean, that is. The issue is that people can and will abuse this stuff. And I hope that we highlighted the fact that, like, we know none of us live a very completely private, hermetically sealed cyber existence. All of us are exposed in one way or another. And Senator Franken was saying that, you know, he doesn't use Siri or Alexa, but he does Google things. That's plenty. That's plenty. To expose you to prying eyes of big data. So, Adam, it is time for the

[Adam Levin]

Tinfoil Swan, our paranoid takeaway that'll help keep you safe.

[Bo Friedlander]

So what is it this week, Travis?

[Travis Taylor]

Well, since we just had Siri on the show, it seems like a good time to talk about protecting your privacy with digital home assistants.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

All of them.

[Bo Friedlander]

Or what?

[Travis Taylor]

I mean, just for today at least. Siri, Alexa, and then whatever Google's name is.

[Adam Levin]

I think it's just, hey, Google, it is.

[Bo Friedlander]

It is. You know, and that way, you know who's stealing your data.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Ah.

[Adam Levin]

Well, name or no, having a connected mic makes your daily life a spectator sport and puts a lot, I mean, a lot of your personal data up for grabs.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah, they're always listening, basically.

[Adam Levin]

Yeah. And as Al Sketch showed us, they can be accidentally triggered by things that, well, sound like trigger words.

[Bo Friedlander]

There should be a trigger warning for that.

[Travis Taylor]

All right, well, while you're waiting for that to happen, here's what you can do for Amazon, AKA Alexa devices. You just go to the app and then click on the More button on the lower left corner of your screen, and then Go to Settings, Alexa, Privacy, and then manage how your data improves Alexa.

[Adam Levin]

It should say, ruin their day.

[Bo Friedlander]

I'm thinking, actually, they're going to survive. Adam, moving along.

[Travis Taylor]

So when you're there, you turn off, help improve Amazon services and develop new features, and then you also disable use messages to improve transcriptions.

[Bo Friedlander]

I can't even believe that it's so Orwellian. So what does that do, Travis?

[Travis Taylor]

It just lets you opt out of some of their more intrusive data collection features.

[Adam Levin]

How about Siri?

[Bo Friedlander]

Apple definitely markets themselves as the more privacy friendly, which makes me wonder if they're not the bigger villain in this picture.

[Travis Taylor]

I mean, Apple claims that their data is anonymized.

[Adam Levin]

You can't really anonymize data.

[Bo Friedlander]

That's true, but it's also a topic for another day.

[Travis Taylor]

Yeah, pretty much. I mean, Apple definitely claims to be a privacy champion, but they're really still vague on the details. So if you want to err on the side of caution, which I certainly do, you can just disable Siri entirely.

[Adam Levin]

Okay. Now I feel bad because we just met actual Siri, like Google.

[Bo Friedlander]

I think she's going to be just fine. Travis.

[Travis Taylor]

Sure. On your iOS device, you just go to Settings and then Siri and Search. Then you toggle listen for hey, Siri. And then go to press side button for Siri. So both of these things will disable the always on functionality, which means that that's the thing, that Siri is always kind of listening to you. And then you go to Settings General and then Keyboard and then toggle Enable dictation.

[Adam Levin]

Is that the same as it is on a desktop computer?

[Travis Taylor]

Not exactly. If you're on a desktop, you just need to go to System Preferences, then Siri, and then from there you just disable Enable Ask Siri.

[Bo Friedlander]

Okay. In other words, they make it absolutely impossible to do.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

I'm exhausted.

[Travis Taylor]

Yeah, I mean, it really only takes a couple of seconds. But you do just need to know where to go.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah, exactly. You need to know where to go.

[Travis Taylor]

Right. And they make it as hard as possible.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Yep.

[Adam Levin]

Okay, what about Google?

[Travis Taylor]

It's a similar process.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yep. Just go find the needle in the haystack.

[Travis Taylor]

All you really need to do here is just go to the Google home app and then click on Account and then more Settings. From there you just go to your data in the assistant and then voice and audio activity. And once you're there, just turn off voice and audio recording.

[Bo Friedlander]

Okay. Again?

[Travis Taylor]

Yeah.

[Adam Levin]

Wouldn't it be nice if they just had a privacy mode like they do? With web browsers.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah, if the privacy mode and web browsers were actually real. Listen, maybe Santa could bring me a 500 gallon tank filled with some home heating oil for Christmas too, while we're at it.

[Adam Levin]

Yeah, well, good luck with that.

[Bo Friedlander]

Yeah.

[Travis Taylor]

And on that uplifting note, that's it for this week's Tinfoil Swan.

[Bo Friedlander]

The privacy hearing was written by Al Franken with an assist from me. I'm Beau Friedlander. I got an assist from Travis Taylor, and we all got assists from our fearless leader, Adam Levin. The part of Alexa was played by Lorraine Newman, Bernie Sanders, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Susan Collins and Sherrod Brown were all played by Al Franken, who also played himself. The part of Susan Collins husband, that's me. And finally, Susan C. Bennett played Siri, which is really cool because she actually is the voice of Siri. Andrew Stephen produced this sketch along with me. What the Hack with Adam Levin is a production of Loud Tree Media. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Come back next week, rate and review and hit that subscribe button.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Sometimes it feels like red and blue

[Bo Friedlander]

states are just as divergent as post

[Al Franken]

World War II east and West Germany.

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

So what can the US learn from

[Bo Friedlander]

German political history in order to create

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

a more perfect union?

[Bo Friedlander]

Find out on the new season of the future of our Former Democracy, the

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Signal Award winning podcast from More Equitable

[Bo Friedlander]

Democracy and Large Media hosted by me,

[Al Franken (as Senator Sanders and others)]

Colin Cole and hello Villanueva.

[Bo Friedlander]

It's time to rethink democracy. So follow the future of our former democracy wherever you get your podcasts.

[Al Franken]

Not all darkness is dangerous. Sometimes it's the doorway to becoming whole. On the brand new podcast the Shadow Sessions, hosted by me, Hiba Balfaqi, a psychologist and trauma expert, we shed light on the hidden corners of the human experience through raw, unfiltered conversations from the edge of of healing. The Shadow Sessions invites you to do the deeper work that leads to real change. Follow the Shadow Sessions wherever you're listening now.