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takyon writes:

Facebook unveils smart displays, promises not to snoop on your video calls

Just as Amazon's newest Echo Show comes out, Facebook enters the smart display space with two devices of its own. The company announced the Portal and Portal+ smart displays today, both of which are voice-controlled speakers with touchscreens that focus on video chatting with Facebook Messenger.

The $199 Portal looks similar to the new Echo Show with its 10-inch, 1280×800 touchscreen, but its speaker sits at the bottom edge, facing the user. The $349 Portal+ has a mammoth 15-inch, 1920×1080 display that can rotate into portrait and landscape orientations. The speaker sits at the bottom of the display, while a camera, more noticeable than that on the regular Portal, sits at the top.

[...] Plenty of people will scoff at the idea of bringing a Facebook-made smart display into their homes, especially ones with cameras and mics. Facebook hasn't been the most forthcoming company when it comes to letting users know which data it collects and how it's using that data. It also doesn't have the best track record when it comes to keeping users' data safe. Hoping to quell concerns, the company included a mic/camera disable button on both Portal devices, as well as a physical camera cover.

Does pressing the mute button alert the FBI/NSA/CIA to your suspicious activity?

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