the 'alexagate' device stops amazon from listening to your conversations

created by the team at MSCHF, ‘alexagate’ is a small physical device designed to stop jeff bezos from spying on you. when attached onto the top of your amazon echo, the yellow add-on will prevent it from recording your conversations through the microphone, allowing you to enjoy the smart speaker without feeling like you’re under surveillance.  

all images courtesy of MSCHF

the alexagate is simple to work. clap three times, or tap the alexagate three times, and it toggles off so that you can talk to your echo like normal. clap three times again, and you’re once more assured of privacy. the device works by using pulsed ultrasound to jam the echo’s microphone. what’s even better: ultrasound is beyond the range of adult human hearing, so you won’t even be able to tell it’s happening.

described by MSCHF as an ‘adversarial retrofit’ and ‘anti-corporate design’, the alexagate project intends to remind consumers that they are in fact being recorded in their home 24/7. ‘the always-on evil microphone is cartoonishly villainous yet wholly unsurprising. perhaps you don’t subscribe to the notion that facebook always listens through your phone’s mic, but ask yourself at least this in all honesty: do you think the echo ‘mute’ button really does anything?’ – MSCHF

project info:

project name: alexagate

design: MSCHF