How can i limit a smart speaker's access to my contacts for privacy?

[Evelyn.D]

I was setting up a new smart speaker and realized it asked for access to my entire contact list, which seems like a huge overreach for just playing music. I’m starting to feel like every new gadget or app wants a piece of my personal information just to function, and I never know what’s actually necessary versus what’s just data harvesting.

[Brian43]

Yeah, that feeling is all too common. It’s like every new gadget is nudging you for a little slice of your life, and contact lists feel especially sensitive.

[Tyler10]

I denied access to contacts and it still did the basics—played music, answered simple commands, and I could still use it without that data. A few features seemed to vanish, though.

[GaryL]

Is the problem really the data harvest, or is it a symptom of how these devices are designed to work?

[David.H]

I remember a time I overthought it, then bought a speaker anyway and ended up feeling conflicted, maybe because I wanted convenience more than privacy, and now I just live with that tradeoff.