Amazon just rolled out Alexa Guard, a new feature that lets your Echo monitor all the sounds in your house while you are away. If it hears a smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm, or glass breaking, it will send you a smart alert, playing the sound on your phone.

On one hand, this is a clever idea and requires no extra purchase on your end. Just tell Alexa you are leaving the house and Alexa will vigilantly listen as instructed. This is great for Amazon, as I’m sure it’ll help them sell more Echo devices.

On the other hand, I’m not sure how I would feel about knowing that Alexa was always listening and, if the moment was right, always ready to record a sound for posterity, especially if you came home and forgot to turn Alexa Guard off.

This just strikes me as anti-privacy.

On the other, other hand, I can’t help but think this is a feature Apple could easily implement, if they so chose. Would I feel any different with Apple eavesdropping, vs Amazon? I’m not sure.