'A MailOnline investigation into how much personal information Alexa is recording and storing on its users has revealed the smart assistant eavesdrops on housemates' gossip, private conversations about insurance policies - and even the family dog.
Amazon insists Alexa can only be activated when the allocated 'wake word' is uttered - being Alexa, Computer or Echo.
The tech giant - along with Apple's Siri and, until recently, Google's Assistant - says it saves every single interaction a person has with the device to improve the service - with some 'unintentional' snippets also being recorded if it mistakes another noise for a 'wake word'.
However, evidence seen by MailOnline shows this cannot be the case, or the process is fundamentally flawed, as a host of sounds and conversations were recorded without a clear or legitimate wake word being uttered - some when there was not even a human nearby.
Smart assistants are now commonplace in many homes but users remain unaware of the treasure trove of private data they store - and that they can access it themselves to hear what has been recorded from their own everyday lives.
A MailOnline investigation into these 'secret' archives has revealed an eerie snippets of users' friends, families and children being recorded while they were completely unaware - and without a clear or legitimate wake word being uttered.
One user found his Alexa repeatedly activated to record the same guest in their house gossiping about work colleagues, while another was recorded in a private discussion about their insurance policy - and another about their dream job.
Bizarrely, in one household, Alexa seems to have developed an obsession with the family dog - waking up 13 times to record it barking.
In a worrying twist, this was often when there was no one in the house who could possibly have ordered it to activate.
You can find out what your device knows about you and what it has been listening to here and read on to see what we unearthed.'
Read more: Eavesdropping on housemates' gossip, recording details about insurance policies and a bizarre obsession with the family dog: MailOnline reveals just how much Alexa IS listening to day-to-day lives
