privacy article on calling

[renegade600]

just ran across the following article and found it pretty interesting.  Makes me wonder if the call feature was not ready for prime time.  Wonder if it was released too soon because of competition. 

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/12/15631502/amazon-echo-alexa-calling-messaging-bad-privacy

Amazon seems to have made a significant oversight in bringing voice calls and messaging to its Echo speakers: there’s no way to block communication that you might not want. So long as someone has your phone number and the Alexa mobile app (which requires an Amazon account), that person can place voice calls, record voice messages, and send text messages that will reach both your Echo device and Alexa app. They’ve got a direct line to a speaker in your home.

[mike27oct]

Yes, good article.  Fortunately,   keep a bare bones Contact list in my iPhone; less than 20 people.  Also, most are listed by first name only, and if there are more than one with same first name, I list their first name as Larry T. Very few are listed by first and last name.  Hope this works to my advantage with Alexa.

There was a third update of new app again on Sunday, indicating the the new app really wasn't ready for prime time.  So, I am willing to go along with the new app for now, but if I ever want to bail from the calling feature Amazon will get a phone call from me to remove me from the service.