Here's Why You Should Avoid Using Smart Speakers During Parties

When hosting parties at home, people will almost always want to play some music to make the atmosphere feel better. Some will naturally want to use their smart home speakers to do the job, and for good reason. These speakers can be controlled easily (even just by voice), can be tasked to play specific songs, albums, playlists, and genres and can do more than just play music.

Consumers who want to use their smart home speakers, such as Apple's HomePod, Amazon's Echo, and the Google Assistant-powered Nest, for example, are warned against the potential risks of using them during backyard parties with others around – and are advised to use “dumb” Bluetooth speakers instead.

Why is this?

Smart home speakers might be “smart,” but they're not entirely foolproof. Digital Trends noted that “it’s possible for a skilled hacker to take control of your home through your smart devices,” which include smart home speakers. And while it's also possible that hackers will not attempt to take advantage of a homeowner's smart speakers, there are other considerations owners should make:

• Anyone can use a smart speaker

Smart speakers, unlike kids, can't be warned by the words “don't talk to strangers.” These devices will respond to anybody who knows the wake or activation word, and can be commanded to do pretty much anything the owner can command, as long as the person knows the commands.

For example, a stranger who crashed into the backyard party can ask the voice assistant powering the speaker to operate the home's smart locks, IoT devices, and smart appliances, if any. This is particularly dangerous for those who have not secured such things.

• Unauthorized people can get information using these devices

Those who have integrated their smart speakers into their daily lives are at higher risk for this. For example, those who manage to wake the device can steal the user's calendar information (which includes dates or times when the house is empty), get stored contact information and more.

While smart speakers are indeed convenient to use and offer great audio quality, it will always be better to err on the side of caution and use Bluetooth speakers instead. Digital Trends adds that some of these are also designed to work even when dropped or submerged in water – which is something that most smart speakers cannot do.