阅读说明：本技术 用于智能扬声器的隐私装置 (Privacy device for smart speakers ) 是由 托马斯·斯塔胡拉 于 2020-02-07 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明描述了用于隐私阻拦装置的系统、设备和方法,所述隐私阻拦装置被配置为阻止侦听装置接收视频数据和/或音频数据,直到发生触发。阻拦器可以被配置为阻止侦听装置的一个或多个麦克风和/或一个或多个相机接收视频数据和/或音频数据。所述阻拦器可以使用所述一个或多个麦克风、所述一个或多个相机和/或一个或多个第二麦克风和/或一个或多个第二相机来监测触发。所述阻拦器可以处理所述数据。在检测到所述触发时,所述阻拦器可以将数据传输到所述侦听装置。例如,所述阻拦器可以将口头短语的全部或部分传输到所述侦听装置。(Systems, devices, and methods are described for a privacy blocking device configured to block an intercepting device from receiving video data and/or audio data until a trigger occurs. The blocker may be configured to block one or more microphones and/or one or more cameras of the listening device from receiving video data and/or audio data. The blocker may use the one or more microphones, the one or more cameras, and/or one or more second microphones and/or one or more second cameras to monitor for a trigger. The blocker may process the data. Upon detecting the trigger, the interceptor may transmit data to the intercepting device. For example, the blocker may transmit all or part of the spoken phrase to the listening device.)

1. A barrier device, comprising:

intercept circuitry configured to prevent transmission of ambient audio from a microphone to a listening device;

listening circuitry configured to determine an audio trigger in the ambient audio using the microphone; and

output circuitry configured to allow the listening device to receive a second ambient audio based on the audio trigger.

2. The barring device according to claim 1, wherein said interception circuitry is configured to prevent said ambient audio from being transmitted from said microphone to said listening device by intercepting signals from said microphone to said listening device.

3. The arresting device of claim 2, wherein intercepting the signal comprises interrupting a transmission medium of the listening device.

4. The blocking device of claim 1, wherein the blocking device is configured to prevent the transmission of the ambient audio from the microphone to the listening device when installed in a second computing device.

5. The arresting device of claim 1, wherein said arresting circuitry is further configured to:

preventing the listening device from receiving third ambient audio after a predetermined period of time and after allowing the listening device to receive the second ambient audio.

6. The barring device according to claim 1, wherein said listening device is connected to a network, and wherein said barring device is not connected to said network.

7. The barring device according to claim 1, wherein said listening circuitry is configured to ignore audio originating from said listening device.

8. The arresting device of claim 1, wherein said audio trigger comprises a verbal command.

9. The barring device according to claim 8, wherein said listening circuitry is configured to use a speech recognition algorithm on said spoken command to determine said audio trigger.

10. A computing device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

preventing transmission of one or more sounds from the microphone to the second computing device;

monitoring the one or more sounds via the microphone;

determining that the one or more sounds are associated with an audio trigger; and

allowing the second computing device to receive one or more second sounds via the microphone based on the audio trigger.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to monitor the one or more sounds via the microphone by intercepting signals transmitted from the microphone to the second computing device.

12. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the computing device is connected to the second computing device via a wireless network, and wherein the computing device is configured to appear to the second computing device as a second microphone.

13. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the computing device is a module installed into the second computing device.

14. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computing device to:

based on determining that one or more second sound sources are from the second computing device, ignoring the one or more second sounds.

15. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow the second computing device to receive the one or more second sounds by causing the computing device to:

transmitting the one or more second sounds to a second microphone associated with the second computing device via one or more speakers.

16. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow reception of the one or more second sounds after one or more third sounds are received by the microphone.

17. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow the second computing device to receive the one or more second sounds by transmitting one or more third sounds to the second computing device based on the one or more second sounds.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the one or more third sounds comprise text-to-speech data generated based on the one or more second sounds.

19. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow the second computing device to receive the one or more second sounds by excluding a portion of the one or more second sounds associated with the audio trigger.

20. A system, comprising:

a first computing device, the first computing device comprising:

a first microphone;

one or more first processors; and

a first memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more first processors, cause the first computing device to receive audio content via the first microphone; and

a second computing device, the second computing device comprising:

a second microphone;

one or more second processors; and

a second memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more second processors, cause the second computing device to:

Intercepting a signal from the first microphone to the first computing device;

detecting one or more second sounds associated with an audio trigger using the second microphone; and

based on the audio trigger, allowing the first computing device to receive one or more third sounds.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein allowing the first computing device to receive the one or more third sounds comprises:

generating the one or more third sounds based on the one or more second sounds.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the second computing device is installed into the first computing device, and wherein the first microphone and the second microphone are the same.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein intercepting a signal from the first microphone to the first computing device comprises:

transmitting one or more fourth sounds to the first computing device.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the one or more fourth sounds are based on sound recorded by the second computing device.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein intercepting a signal from the first microphone to the first computing device comprises:

Activating a mute function of the first computing device.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more second sounds are spoken by a user, and wherein the audio trigger is defined by the user.

27. The system of claim 20, wherein allowing the first computing device to receive the one or more third sounds is based on determining that the one or more third sounds do not originate from a speaker associated with the first computing device.

28. The system of claim 20, wherein intercepting a signal from the first microphone to the first computing device comprises disabling the first microphone.

29. A method, comprising:

intercepting, by an intercepting device, a communication between a first microphone and a listening device, wherein the intercepting device is configured to intercept the communication by preventing one or more signals from the first microphone from being received by the listening device;

detecting, using the first microphone and through the blocking device, one or more sounds associated with an audio trigger; and

allowing the listening device to receive one or more second signals based on detecting the one or more sounds associated with the audio trigger.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the arresting device and the first microphone are part of a module mounted in the listening device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein a user is instructed via instructions accompanying the arresting device to install the module in the listening device.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the listening device is allowed to receive the one or more second signals for a temporary period of time.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein the arresting device is configured to intercept the communication by interrupting one or more wires of the listening device.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the first microphone replaces a second microphone associated with the listening device.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

preventing communication between the second microphone and the listening device.

36. The method of claim 29, wherein the audio trigger corresponds to a command of the listening device.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the command is one or more spoken words.

38. The method of claim 29, wherein the arresting device comprises circuitry configured to detect the one or more sounds.

39. The method of claim 29, wherein the arresting device is configured to remove a portion of the one or more signals from the first microphone prior to transmitting the one or more signals to the listening device.

40. The method of claim 29, wherein the arresting means is installed via an interface of the listening means.

41. A smart device, comprising:

at least one microphone;

one or more processors; and

blocking circuitry configured to:

prevent, while the blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, reception by the one or more processors of a first signal generated by the at least one microphone, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry;

detecting, using an input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry; and

Based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

42. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger.

43. The smart device of claim 42, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined volume.

44. The smart device of claim 42, wherein the blocking circuitry further comprises the at least one second microphone.

45. The smart device of claim 42, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry by:

processing the audio trigger using at least one of a speech recognition algorithm and a natural language processing algorithm; and

determining, based on the processing, that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

46. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry.

47. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

48. The smart device of claim 41, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the at least one microphone.

49. The smart device of claim 41, further comprising:

returning to the untriggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

50. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

51. The smart device of claim 41, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

52. The smart device of claim 51, wherein a first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on a second volume of the one or more second sounds.

53. The smart device of claim 51, further comprising:

determining the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds for a certain period of time while the blocking circuitry is in the un-triggered state.

54. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and

outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

55. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the blocking circuitry and the one or more processors are located within a same housing.

56. The smart device of claim 41, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is grounded when the blocking circuitry is in the un-triggered state.

57. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the blocking circuitry is further configured to indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected.

58. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the blocking circuitry is further configured to indicate when the blocking circuitry is in the triggered state.

59. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the blocking circuitry is unable to communicate over a network used by the smart device.

60. The smart device of claim 41, wherein the first trigger is configurable by a user.

61. A method, comprising:

while blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, blocking, by the blocking circuitry, reception by one or more processors of a smart device of a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry;

detecting, by the blocking circuitry and using an input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

Based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a triggered state by the barring device and allowing reception by the one or more processors of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

64. The method of claim 62, wherein the smart device further comprises the at least one second microphone.

65. The method of claim 62, wherein detecting the first trigger comprises:

processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm; and

determining, based on the processing, that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

66. A blocking circuitry comprising an input device, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to:

while the blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, blocking reception by one or more processors of a smart device of a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry;

Detecting, using the input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

based on detecting the trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

67. The blocking circuitry of claim 66, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

68. The blocking circuitry of claim 67, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

69. The barring circuitry of claim 67, wherein said smart device further comprises said at least one second microphone.

70. The blocking circuitry of claim 67, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry by:

processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm; and

Determining, based on the processing, that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

71. A system, comprising:

a smart device, the smart device comprising:

at least one microphone;

one or more processors; and

a blocking module interface; and

a removable arresting device adapted to be connected to the smart device via the arresting module interface;

wherein the removable barricade is configured to, when connected to the barricade module interface:

preventing, by the one or more processors, reception of a first signal generated by the at least one microphone when the removable blocker is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocker module interface;

detecting, using an input device of the removable barrier device, a first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors and via the barring module interface of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

72. The system of claim 71, wherein the one or more processors receive a third signal from the at least one microphone and via the barring module interface when the removable barring device is disconnected from the barring module interface.

73. The system of claim 72, wherein connection of the removable blocking device to the blocking module interface prevents the one or more processors from receiving the third signal.

74. The system of claim 71, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

75. The system of claim 74, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

76. The system of claim 74, wherein the removable arresting device comprises the at least one second microphone.

77. The system of claim 74, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the removable arresting apparatus by:

based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

78. The system of claim 71, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the removable arresting device.

79. The system of claim 71, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

80. The system of claim 71, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the at least one microphone.

81. The system of claim 71, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is further configured to:

returning to the untriggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

82. The system of claim 71, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

83. The system of claim 71, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

84. The system of claim 83, wherein a first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on a second volume of the one or more second sounds.

85. The system of claim 71, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and

outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

86. The system of claim 71, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is grounded when the removable blocker is in the un-triggered state.

87. The system of claim 71, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is further configured to indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected.

88. The system of claim 71, wherein the removable blocking device is further configured to indicate when the removable blocking device is in the triggered state.

89. The system of claim 71, wherein the removable arresting device is unable to communicate over a network used by the smart device.

90. The system of claim 71, wherein the first trigger is configurable by a user.

91. A method, comprising:

preventing, by a removable barrage physically connected to a barrage module interface of a smart device, reception, by one or more processors of the smart device, of a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device when the removable barrage device is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the barrage module interface;

detecting, using an input device of the removable barrier device, a first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a triggered state by the removable blocking device and allowing reception, by the one or more processors and via the blocking module interface, of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

92. The method of claim 91, further comprising:

connecting the removable blocking device to the smart device via the blocking module interface, wherein connecting the removable blocking device prevents a third signal from the at least one microphone from being received by the one or more processors.

93. The method of claim 91, further comprising:

disconnecting the removable arresting device from the smart device via the arresting module interface, wherein disconnecting the removable arresting device allows for receiving, by the one or more processors, a third signal from the at least one microphone.

94. The method of claim 91, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

95. The method of claim 92, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the removable arresting apparatus by:

based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

96. A removable blocking device, wherein the removable blocking device is configured to, when connected to a blocking module interface of a smart device:

prevent, by one or more processors of the smart device, receiving a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device while the removable blocking device is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking module interface;

Detecting, using an input device of the removable barrier device, a first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors and via the barring module interface of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

97. The removable arresting device according to claim 96, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

98. The removable arresting device of claim 97, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

99. The removable arresting device according to claim 97, wherein the removable arresting device comprises the at least one second microphone.

100. The removable arresting device according to claim 97, wherein the removable arresting device is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the removable arresting device by:

Based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

101. A system, comprising:

a smart device comprising at least one first microphone; and

a blocking device comprising at least one second microphone and an output device, wherein the blocking device is configured to:

determining, using the at least one second microphone, one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device;

outputting, using the output device, first audio to the at least one first microphone, wherein the first audio is generated based on a volume of the one or more sounds and is configured to obstruct receipt of ambient audio by the at least one first microphone when the obstruction device is in an un-triggered state;

detecting a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one second microphone, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and outputting the second trigger to the at least one first microphone using the output device.

102. The system of claim 101, wherein a first volume of the first audio is configured to be greater than the volume of the one or more sounds.

103. The system of claim 101, further comprising:

selecting the one or more sounds based on the volume of the one or more sounds satisfying a threshold.

104. The system of claim 101, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

105. The system of claim 104, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

106. The system of claim 104, wherein one or more first words associated with the first trigger are different from one or more second words associated with the second trigger.

107. The system of claim 104, wherein the arresting apparatus is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the arresting apparatus by:

based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

108. The system of claim 101, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the arresting device.

109. The system of claim 101, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

110. The system of claim 101, wherein impeding reception of the ambient audio comprises masking at least a portion of the at least one first microphone.

111. The system of claim 101, wherein the arresting device is further configured to:

returning to the untriggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

112. The system of claim 101, wherein the arresting means is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and output the second trigger by:

determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

113. The system of claim 101, wherein the first audio is configured to simulate speech uttered by one or more users of the smart device.

114. The system of claim 101, wherein the arresting device is further configured to determine the one or more sounds by:

recording the one or more sounds for a certain period of time while the arresting means is in the non-triggered state.

115. The system of claim 101, wherein the second trigger is configured to hide an identity of at least one user.

116. The system of claim 101, wherein the arresting device is configured to be attached to at least a portion of a housing of the smart device.

117. The system of claim 101, wherein the blocking device is configured to block the at least one first microphone from receiving any audio other than audio originating from the output device.

118. The system of claim 101, wherein the arresting device is further configured to indicate when the arresting device is in the triggered state.

119. The system of claim 101, wherein the arresting device is unable to communicate over a network used by the smart device.

120. The system of claim 101, wherein the first trigger is configurable by a user.

121. A method, comprising:

determining, using at least one first microphone of the arresting device, one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device;

outputting, using an output device of the barring device, first audio to at least one second microphone of the smart device, wherein the first audio is based on the one or more sounds and is configured to bar reception of ambient audio by the at least one second microphone when the barring device is in an un-triggered state;

detecting a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one first microphone, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and outputting the second trigger to the at least one second microphone using the output device.

122. The method of claim 121, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one first microphone.

123. The method of claim 122, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

124. The method of claim 122, wherein one or more first words associated with the first trigger are different from one or more second words associated with the second trigger.

125. The method of claim 122, wherein the arresting device is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the arresting device by:

based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

126. A barring apparatus comprising at least one first microphone and an output apparatus, wherein the barring apparatus is configured to:

determining, using the at least one first microphone, one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device;

outputting, using the output device, first audio to at least one second microphone of the smart device, wherein the first audio is based on the one or more sounds and is configured to obstruct reception of ambient audio by the at least one second microphone when the obstruction device is in an un-triggered state;

detecting a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one first microphone, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and

Based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and outputting the second trigger to the at least one second microphone using the output device.

127. The obstruction device of claim 126, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one first microphone.

128. The arresting device according to claim 127, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

129. The bar of claim 127, wherein the one or more first words associated with the first trigger are different from the one or more second words associated with the second trigger.

130. The arresting device according to claim 127, wherein the arresting device is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the arresting device by:

based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

131. A method, comprising:

detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one microphone of a smart device and one or more processors of the smart device;

Determining, based on the first electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry blocks reception of the first signal generated by the at least one microphone by the one or more processors while the blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry;

detecting a second electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device;

determining, based on the second electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry detects, using an input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry;

detecting a third electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; and is

Based on the third electrical signal, determining that the blocking circuitry temporarily enters a trigger state and allows a second signal generated by the at least one microphone to be received by the one or more processors based on detecting the first trigger.

132. The method of claim 131, wherein detecting the first electrical signal includes monitoring one or more circuits of the smart device.

133. The method of claim 131, wherein detecting the first electrical signal includes monitoring power usage of the smart device.

134. The method of claim 131, further comprising:

assigning a privacy level to the blocking circuitry based on the first electrical signal, the second electrical signal, and the third electrical signal.

135. The method of claim 131, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

136. The method of claim 131, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry.

137. The method of claim 131, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

138. The method of claim 131, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the at least one microphone.

139. The method of claim 131, further comprising determining, based on a fourth electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry is to return to the untriggered state based on determining that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

140. The method of claim 131, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

141. The method of claim 131, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, third signals comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

142. The method of claim 141, wherein a first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on a second volume of the one or more second sounds.

143. The method of claim 141, further comprising determining, based on the first electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry determined the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds for a certain period of time while the blocking circuitry was in the un-triggered state.

144. The method of claim 131, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and

outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

145. A method, comprising:

detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one microphone of a smart device and one or more processors of the smart device;

determining, based on the first electrical signal, that a removable blocking device connected to the smart device via a blocking module interface prevents reception, by the one or more processors of the smart device, of a first signal generated by the at least one microphone of the smart device when the removable blocking device is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking module interface;

detecting a second electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device;

Based on the second electrical signal, determining that the removable arresting device detects a first trigger associated with activating the removable arresting device using an input device of the removable arresting device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device;

detecting a third electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; and is

Based on the third electrical signal, determining that the removable blocker temporarily enters a trigger state based on detecting the first trigger and allowing a second signal generated by the at least one microphone to be received by the one or more processors and via the blocker module interface.

146. The method of claim 145, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring one or more circuits of the smart device.

147. The method of claim 145, wherein detecting the first electrical signal includes monitoring power usage of the smart device.

148. The method of claim 145, further comprising:

assigning a privacy level to the removable arresting apparatus based on the first electrical signal, the second electrical signal, and the third electrical signal.

149. The method of claim 145, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

150. The method of claim 145, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the removable arresting device.

151. The method of claim 145, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

152. The method of claim 145, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the at least one microphone.

153. The method of claim 145, further comprising determining, based on a fourth electrical signal, that the removable arresting device returns to the un-triggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

154. The method of claim 145, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

155. The method of claim 145, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

156. The method of claim 155, wherein a first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on a second volume of the one or more second sounds.

157. The method of claim 155, further comprising determining, based on the first electrical signal, that the removable arresting apparatus is configured to determine the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds for a certain period of time while the removable arresting apparatus is in the un-triggered state.

158. The method of claim 145, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by:

processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and

Outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

159. A method, comprising:

detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one first microphone of a smart device and one or more processors of the smart device;

determining, based on the first electrical signal, that a blocking device determines one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device using at least one second microphone of the blocking device;

detecting a second electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device;

based on the second electrical signal, determining that the barring device is configured to output first audio to the at least one first microphone of the smart device using an output device of the barring device, wherein the first audio is based on the one or more sounds and is configured to bar reception of ambient audio by the at least one first microphone when the barring device is in an un-triggered state;

detecting a third electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device;

Based on the third electrical signal, determining that the arresting device is configured to detect a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one second microphone of the arresting device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device;

detecting a fourth electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; and

based on the fourth electrical signal, determining that the barring device is configured to temporarily enter a triggered state based on detecting the first trigger and outputting the second trigger to the at least one first microphone using the output device.

160. The method of claim 159, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring power usage of the smart device.

161. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a blocker, at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device;

determining that the mobile device is in a barring mode based on at least one of the position and the orientation of the mobile device;

based on determining that the mobile device is in a blocking mode, intercepting one or more signals received via one or more inputs of the mobile device;

Detecting a trigger associated with a trigger state; and

entering the trigger state based on detecting the trigger, the trigger state allowing one or more processors of the mobile device to receive one or more signals from the one or more inputs of the mobile device.

162. The method of claim 161, wherein detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device further comprises:

determining that the mobile device has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time.

163. The method of claim 161, wherein detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device further comprises:

it is determined which direction the mobile device is facing.

164. The method of claim 161, wherein detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device further comprises:

determining a first orientation of the mobile device;

determining a second orientation of the mobile device;

determining whether the second orientation of the mobile device satisfies a first threshold; and

determining that the mobile device is in a barring mode based on determining that the second orientation does not satisfy the first threshold.

165. The method of claim 161, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises:

Interrupting a transmission medium of the mobile device.

166. The method of claim 161, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises:

interrupting one or more wires of the mobile device.

167. The method of claim 161, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises:

grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with one or more inputs of the mobile device.

168. The method of claim 161, wherein the trigger comprises a change in at least one of the position and the orientation of the mobile device.

169. The method of claim 161, wherein the trigger comprises a gesture input.

170. The method of claim 169, wherein the gesture input comprises a shaking movement.

171. The method of claim 161, wherein detecting the trigger further comprises:

receiving an audio trigger via the one or more inputs of the mobile device.

172. The method of claim 171, wherein the audio trigger overrides one or more gesture inputs.

173. A computing device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

A memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of the computing device;

determining that the computing device is in a blocking mode based on at least one of the position and the orientation of the computing device;

based on determining that the computing device is in a blocking mode, intercept one or more signals received via one or more inputs of the computing device;

detecting a trigger associated with a trigger state; and

enter the trigger state based on detecting the trigger, the trigger state allowing the one or more processors to receive one or more signals from the one or more inputs.

174. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

determining that the computing device has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time.

175. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

determining which direction the computing device is facing.

176. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

Determining a first orientation of the computing device;

determining a second orientation of the computing device;

determining whether the second orientation of the computing device satisfies a first threshold; and

based on determining that the second orientation does not satisfy the first threshold, determining that the computing device is in a blocking mode.

177. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

interrupting a transmission medium of the computing device.

178. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

interrupting one or more wires of the computing device.

179. The computing device of claim 173, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the one or more inputs.

180. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the trigger comprises a gesture input.

181. The computing device of claim 180, wherein the gesture input comprises a shaking movement.

182. The computing device of claim 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

An audio trigger is received via the one or more inputs.

183. The computing device of claim 182, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the computing device.

184. The computing device of claim 182, wherein the audio trigger overrides one or more gesture inputs.

185. A barrier device, comprising:

intercept circuitry configured to prevent one or more signals from being transmitted from one or more inputs to a processor of a mobile device;

an accelerometer configured to detect a gesture input; and

output circuitry configured to allow the processor of the mobile device to receive one or more second signals based on the gesture input.

186. The catch of claim 185, further comprising:

listening circuitry configured to determine an audio trigger using the microphone, wherein the audio trigger causes the output circuitry to allow the processor of the mobile device to receive the one or more second signals.

187. The arresting device according to claim 185, wherein the arresting device draws power from the mobile device.

188. The obstruction device of claim 185, wherein said obstruction device does not comprise a processor.

189. A system, comprising:

a mobile device, the mobile device comprising:

one or more inputs, wherein the one or more inputs include at least one microphone and at least one image capture device;

one or more processors; and

a arresting device adapted to be connected to the mobile device, wherein the arresting device is configured to, when connected to the mobile device:

detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of the mobile device;

determining that the mobile device is in a barring mode based on at least one of the position and the orientation of the mobile device;

based on determining that the mobile device is in a blocking mode, intercepting one or more signals received via one or more inputs of the mobile device;

detecting a trigger associated with a trigger state; and

entering the trigger state based on detecting the trigger, the trigger state allowing the one or more processors of the mobile device to receive one or more signals from the one or more inputs of the mobile device.

190. The system of claim 189, wherein the trigger comprises a repetitive motion of the mobile device.

Background

Computer devices that use microphones for voice control are becoming more common, including devices that constantly listen and process audio to allow spontaneous voice commands to be processed at any time. Many of these devices send commands and other data to computer servers that permanently store large amounts of data.

This poses a significant privacy risk to the public. In many cases, the value of permanently listening to computing devices makes avoiding the use of these devices to protect privacy an undesirable tradeoff. In other cases, the person may not be aware that they are being intercepted. Therefore, a system that protects privacy but allows listening devices to still provide their intended value would be valuable.

Disclosure of Invention

The following summary presents a simplified summary of some features. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intended to identify key or critical elements.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for blocking incoming data from reaching listening devices are described. The listening device may be configured with one or more microphones or one or more cameras that perform one or more actions in response to a first trigger (e.g., a wake up word). For example, the listening device may be a smart speaker. The interceptor, which may be a computing device, may be configured to prevent the listening device from receiving such input data (e.g., via the one or more microphones or the one or more cameras) until a second trigger (which may be the same as or similar to the first trigger) has been received. For example, the blocker may intercept audio data or video data collected from one or more microphones and/or one or more cameras from being received by the listening device. As another example, the blocker may play one or more sounds (e.g., white noise, spurious ambient noise including one or more ambient sounds, noise configured to confuse speech, spurious dialog data) using a speaker or the like directed to one or more microphones of the listening device. The blocker may be configured with one or more second microphones and/or one or more second cameras that retrieve audio data and/or video data and monitor such data for a second trigger. The interceptor may monitor the second trigger using the one or more microphones and/or the one or more cameras of the listening device. For example, the blocker may be a module physically mounted in the listening device that intercepts communications from the one or more microphones and/or the one or more cameras. The second trigger may be, for example, a gesture, a spoken command including one or more spoken words, or the like, and may be defined by the user (e.g., using a configuration tool associated with the blocker). The blocker may be configured to ignore audio and/or video originating from the listening device such that, for example, the listening device cannot attempt to bypass the blocker. Upon determining the presence of the second trigger, the blocker may allow the listening device to receive audio data and/or video data, for example for a predetermined period of time. The interceptor may modify such audio data and/or video data before transmitting such data to the listening device. For example, the interceptor may receive the command, use a language recognition algorithm on the command, reproduce the command using a text-to-speech algorithm, and output the text-to-speech command via a speaker directed to one or more microphones of the listening device. The interceptor may wait a predetermined period of time before transmitting such data to the listening device.

These and other features and advantages are described in more detail below.

Drawings

Some features are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a privacy blocker integrated into a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 illustrates a modular privacy blocker that can be integrated into a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 illustrates an example of a privacy blocker operating with respect to a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates an example of a privacy blocker that can be integrated into a listening device and have additional components in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of hardware elements of a computing device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 illustrates an example of a flow diagram for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates an example of a flow diagram for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 illustrates an example of a flow diagram for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a flow diagram for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 illustrates an example of a flow diagram for intercepting a signal intended for a mobile device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the following description of various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which are pointed out above and form a part of the invention, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which aspects described herein may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope described herein. The various aspects are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.

It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Indeed, the phrases and terms used herein should be given their broadest interpretation and meaning. The use of "including" and "comprising" and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. The use of the terms "mounted," "connected," "coupled," "positioned," "engaged" and similar terms is intended to encompass both direct and indirect mounting, connecting, coupling, positioning and engaging.

Listening devices may be a wide variety of devices (e.g., computing devices), including but not limited to home assistants, home automation assistants, music players, televisions, gaming systems, smart phones, smart watches, computer monitors, laptops, computer tablets, physical security systems, automotive vehicles, headsets, alarm clocks, and kitchen appliances. Non-limiting examples may include: com, inc., Seattle, Washington; home device of Google inc., Menlo Park, California; and the HomePod system of Apple, inc., Cupertino, California. An interception device is interchangeably referred to in this specification as an interception device, an interception device and/or an interceptor.

Non-integrated system

The system described herein may be implemented primarily in a non-integrated manner, where a blocker is added to the listening device without intercepting the communications transmitted by the input device of the listening device. The interceptor device (301) may be a device, such as a computing device, that is placed in a position covering and/or proximate to one or more microphones (306) (which may be part of and/or external to the interceptor device (302)) and that limits the ability of the intercepting device to intercept sound in the environment.

In some embodiments, the blocker device (301) may include a microphone (304), a speaker (305), a processor, and a power source (308). In other embodiments, the blocker may include circuitry, such as one or more integrated circuits, configured to perform steps processed by the processor. In other cases, a combination of circuitry and one or more processors may be used.

The blocker device (301) may use its microphone (304) to receive information about the sound in the environment (e.g., sound data). The microphone (304) may be configured to receive ambient audio that includes one or more sounds, such as spoken words, music, and so forth. The microphone need not be any particular type of microphone and may be any device configured to receive audio and/or transmit audio data. The microphone may send this received audio as sound data to the processor of the blocker. The processor may process the sound to determine whether a trigger sound occurs. If it is determined that a trigger sound has occurred, the interceptor means may switch from the intercepting mode to the pass-through mode, whereby the interceptor may allow the listening means (302) to receive sound from the environment. The interceptor may perform a passive interception whereby the interceptor has an acoustic seal around the microphone (306) of the intercepting device and provides acoustic insulation so that the intercepting device cannot eavesdrop. In passive interception, when entering the pass-through mode, the interceptor may play back the sound heard by the interceptor from its microphone (304) through its loudspeaker (305), so that the intercepting device can eavesdrop without physically removing the interceptor. Additionally and/or alternatively, the interceptor may perform active interception, whereby the interceptor may play interfering sounds from its speakers (305) when in the intercepting mode, such that the intercepting device cannot eavesdrop and/or such that a human eavesdropper or an automatic eavesdropper with or without a machine learning algorithm can eavesdrop, and in the pass-through mode, the interceptor may not play sounds from its speakers and/or may play sounds heard by the interceptor from its microphone to amplify the sounds, such that the intercepting device can easily eavesdrop.

Integrated system

The system described herein may be implemented in an integrated manner, wherein a blocker is added to the listening device and is configured to intercept communications transmitted by the input device of the listening device. The interceptor means (101) may be integrated into the interception means (102). The interceptor may be permanently attached and/or mounted to the listening device, temporarily clipped (204) to the listening device, and/or screwed into and/or otherwise temporarily mounted to the listening device, loosely cabled to the listening device, and/or may not have a physical connection with the listening device. The listening device may have a physical switch that controls whether the blocker is used or bypassed.

The interceptor device (101) may include a processor and may include a separate microphone (104) that is not used by the listening device, or it may be integrated into the same microphone (106) used by the listening device, or both. When the interceptor is installed, the intercepting device may have the right to receive sound information through the processor of the interceptor, but may not be able to receive sound information directly from the one or more microphones. In some embodiments, if the microphone is trusted, such as when it is not part of an untrusted listening device, then alternatively, when the blocker has indicated to the trusted microphone that the blocker is in the pass-through mode, the microphone may send sound information directly to the listening device, and in the blocking mode, the listening device may not be able to receive sound from the microphone. In a combined interceptor and listening device system, if there is only one microphone or microphone array, the microphone may be used both for trigger detection when in the intercepting mode and for providing sound data to the processor (103) of the listening device via the processor of the interceptor when in the direct mode. Any of the microphones described herein may be located within the interceptor, the listening device, or separate from both. If there are two separate microphones or microphone arrays within the combined system, either microphone may be used for trigger detection when in the blocker mode, while the other microphone may be used to provide sound data to the processor of the listening device via the processor of the blocker when in the pass-through mode.

The integration of the interceptor means (101) with the interception means (102) may be in the form of a circuit with a connection, with a wireless connection, or a combination of both. The connection from the interceptor to the one or more microphones may also be in the form of a circuit with a connection, with a wireless connection, or a combination of both, and need not be in the same form as integrated to the listening device. For example, one or more of the microphones may be a wireless microphone and/or a wireless device that includes one or more microphones. The connection from the interceptor to the one or more loudspeakers may also be in the form of a circuit with a connection, with a wireless connection, or a combination of both, and need not necessarily be the same form as integrated to the listening device or connected to the microphone. In any integration, the connected circuitry may include power lines, conventional voice transmission lines such as analog auxiliary cables, various digital data transmission lines such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, or any combination of a plurality of such connected circuits. In any integration, the wireless connection may use a standard protocol, such as Wi-Fi or bluetooth, and/or a proprietary protocol.

The interceptor device (101) may not have the capability of being directly connected to a Wide Area Network (WAN) and/or the device to which the interceptor device is connected to reach the WAN may have a method of significantly restricting the interceptor device so that access to the microphone by the interceptor device does not pose a eavesdropping risk outside of the information it sends to the eavesdropping device. The blocker may also have no or only limited ability to accept instructions from listening devices through any integration to reduce the risk that listening devices can force the blocker into pass-through mode for unauthorized eavesdropping.

Power flow system

The interceptor device may be plugged into a power source and the power line of the intercepting device may be plugged into a power outlet of the interceptor. The interceptor device may include a processor, a microphone, a power cord, and a power outlet. The listening device may be powered off when the blocker is in the blocking mode, and may use the power when the blocker is in the pass-through mode.

The power supply of the interceptor and the power supply of the intercepting means do not need to be connected. The blocker may additionally and/or alternatively receive power from other sources. For example, the blocker may receive power from the listening device, may be battery powered, may be powered through a wall outlet, and/or may receive power from another device (e.g., a nearby laptop). Any kind of method of supplying the arrester may be used. To conserve power, the blocker may be configured to operate in a low power state when no or little audio and/or motion is detected.

Processor with a memory having a plurality of memory cells

The processor of the interceptor may be part of a more general purpose computing device capable of executing software (e.g., stored in memory), whereby the software provides instructions for processing and determining whether a trigger has occurred. Alternatively and/or additionally, the processor may include a circuit board specifically designed to process sound, such that minimal or no software may be required to determine whether a trigger has occurred. If both methods are used, the circuit board may perform initial processing to determine whether a trigger is even likely or possible at any given time, and upon determining that a trigger has some reasonable level of likelihood, the circuit board may wake up and/or otherwise activate the general purpose computing portion of the processor to confirm with high confidence using software whether a trigger has in fact occurred. This approach may provide a number of benefits including, but not limited to, saving power and/or providing additional privacy assurance that even the software of the interceptor may access the sound of the environment in a shorter time.

Multiple microphones

In all cases throughout this document, a microphone and multiple microphones may be used interchangeably; for example, in any case where a single microphone is mentioned, multiple microphones may be replaced with a single microphone. It is also possible to replace the microphone array with all microphones and/or intermediate means providing data from the microphones.

Active barrier

Active blocking may be particularly useful in non-integrated implementations. The interceptor may employ one or any combination of a variety of active intercepting methods effective to prevent eavesdropping by devices using speech recognition, artificial intelligence systems, and/or humans. The blocker may generate random static noise. The interceptor may determine an ongoing volume of the ambient sound, which volume is measured in real time and/or as a maximum of a few seconds past, and adjust the generated noise volume based on the determined ambient volume, so that the generated volume is more secure against eavesdropping, while not disturbing the person when the ambient volume is reduced. The blocker may generate noise having a different distribution than white noise, such as brownian noise, and/or noise having a distribution that is particularly known to make it more difficult to understand human speech. The blocker may determine other characteristics of the ambient sound similar to the volume determination, such as the presence and/or volume of a particular frequency range, the type of sound waveform, the duration of the frequency, and/or to what extent human speech is present, and use this determination to change the volume, distribution, mixing and/or duration of the frequencies, volume of the various frequencies, and/or other characteristics of the generated noise. For example, the blocker may determine that the ambient general volume is 50db and that the male voice is speaking in 80db bursts, and then generate noise that is typically 60db but with 90db frequent bursts, the frequency of which is typical of male voices.

The interceptor may store multiple recordings of different lengths of ambient sound, for example from less than 5 milliseconds to longer than 1 minute, and incorporate one or more simultaneous recordings into the generated noise. The blocker may record sound periodically while in the blocking mode, during the most recent pass-through mode, and/or both. For example, the blocker may perform three 20 millisecond recordings every 15 seconds while in any mode, two 150 millisecond recordings every 5 minutes while in any mode, and three 4 second recordings from two most recent pass-through mode events, and may repeatedly cycle each of them, combine them all together, and/or combine them with noise and produce the resulting noise through the speaker of the blocker. The result is that the generated noise may be more difficult for the listening device and/or associated server to filter out to allow eavesdropping. Additionally and/or alternatively, prior to using any given recording to generate noise, the recording may be modified for obfuscation and/or converted to a formula that may be used to subsequently generate sound that may approximate one or more characteristics of the recorded sound but without having to store the recording. The interceptor may store the records in a manner that makes the software of the interceptor inaccessible, unable to transfer from the interceptor to the network, and/or the interceptor may intentionally lack the ability to connect to the network to transfer the records; all these alternatives provide a high degree of assurance that the recording does not constitute a privacy risk.

The blocker may also employ common noise cancellation techniques in determining what noise to generate. The interceptor may analyze one or more characteristics of the ambient sound and construct a distribution of metadata about the sound that will be used to select one or more noise distributions from a dictionary of noise distributions and/or noise recordings that have been predetermined to be very effective in disturbing the type of ambient sound that occurs during any given time period. Additionally and/or alternatively, the dictionary may contain definitions of sound modifiers that should be applied to the ambient sound to produce one of the noise layers.

The blocker may employ a directional loudspeaker to interfere with the loudspeakers of the listener. Directional loudspeakers may reduce noise disturbances to nearby users. The directional speakers may comprise typical types and technologies used for zoned audio systems, including parametric speakers, but on a smaller scale.

The blocker may have a plurality of interfering speakers for one or more of the microphones of the listener. The interfering speakers may be positioned independently of each other and/or collectively by the user independently of the blocker, which may allow the blocker to be shape compatible with more types of listeners. For example, the barrier may have a plurality of flexible or rigid tentacles that extend from the barrier and to various locations around the listener. Each tentacle may have one or more interference speakers.

The interceptor may have an interference test mode and the interceptor and/or the individual device may emit a specific signal intended to be interfered and which would normally cause the intended behavior of the listening device. The interceptor may measure whether the interference was successful. Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may request that the user indicate to the blocker whether the interference was successful and/or whether the audio is disturbing the user. The blocker may be tested multiple times at different interference intensities to determine the optimum intensity needed to balance the privacy of the user while minimizing the disturbance to the user.

The blocker may use non-audible interference to affect the microphone. Non-audible interference may include multiple ultrasonic waves (e.g., including those used in parametric speakers), a single ultrasonic wave, and/or interference that is not sound at all. Non-acoustic interference may include magnetic interference of the listener's microphone and/or its associated circuitry, infrared-based temperature interference, electromagnetic interference, electrical interference in the form of an electric field, quantum interference, vibration, incoherent light in sufficiently close proximity or at a distance at which the listener and/or microphone are susceptible to optical interference, and laser light. For example, it has been demonstrated that a microphone can interpret pulse patterns from even a long distance lamp (e.g., Light Emitting Diode (LED), laser, etc.) as equivalent to sound waves received by the microphone, which can be useful for lamp-based (e.g., laser-based) audio injection attacks on voice-controllable systems. For example, the light (e.g., LED) may be a high intensity light in close proximity (e.g., <30cm) to the microphone. The further the light source is, the more focused the light source can be to concentrate the intensity of the light on the microphone. The light may cause the microphone to interpret the light as interference (e.g., white noise). In some embodiments, the blocker may use this phenomenon instead of a microphone blocking the listener in close proximity or at a distance when in the blocking mode. Using non-sound based interference may allow one microphone to be blocked while allowing another microphone in close proximity to receive signals (e.g., unaffected by the non-sound based interference). The blocker may use techniques described for voice-based interference, non-voice interference, and/or any combination thereof to increase privacy assurance. The blocker may provide a barrier and/or a cover to isolate the non-sound based interference to the space between the microphone of the listener and the interference source.

Electromagnetic interference or interference considers the complete electromagnetic spectrum, which includes ionizing radiation, visible and invisible light, microwaves and radio waves. The light may be incoherent, such as light produced by the sun or a common light bulb, or coherent, such as a laser light source. For any electromagnetic interference technique, the interference signal may be composed of specific frequencies and/or combinations thereof. For example, white light and/or a combination of blue and infrared light. These frequencies or carrier signals are modulated to produce the desired interference effect. The modulated signal may be digital or analog, or a combination of both. The modulated signal may simulate different noise distributions and/or audio signals, such as a coffee shop conversation, or any other signal distribution intended to interfere with the microphone. The modulated carrier signal may be used to change the state of the microphone so that the microphone will output a signal having the desired interference characteristics. For linear processes, the output signal of the microphone may have a high correlation with the modulated carrier signal, but for non-linear interactions, the output signal of the microphone may not have such a correlation.

The noise profile used to modulate the carrier signal may include, but is not limited to, white noise, pink noise, brownian noise, and the like. Other noise distributions may be used, such as waveforms whose frequency distribution may cause a noise level on the microphone that allows for a masking effect. For example, a sine wave whose phase and/or frequency varies randomly or at specified intervals.

Electromagnetic signals outside the spectral boundaries may be generated by antennas, coils, or other means. The electric field may be generated by a flat conductive plate or other methods. Quantum interference embodiments may include, but are not limited to, the use of principles such as quantum entanglement. An example of a device that can be used to generate vibrations at different frequencies may be an electromagnetic motor having an unbalanced load attached thereto and whose rotational frequency is controlled by a modulated carrier signal. Other means of generating vibrations that can be interpreted by the microphone as sound signals may also be used.

The incoherent light source for the carrier signal may be generated using a Light Emitting Diode (LED) or other process such as, but not limited to, a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent bulb. Optical artifacts such as optical fibers and lenses can be used to focus the light beam on the membrane of the microphone. The LEDs may produce ultraviolet, visible or infrared light, and any combination of these may be used as the carrier signal. The LED may be mounted in close proximity to the microphone and a lens may be used to focus the light on the membrane surface of the microphone. Or the LED may be mounted remotely from the microphone and an optical fiber may be used to direct the beam to the microphone sound port opening. For devices with more than one microphone, a single LED and fiber optic network with sufficient power may be used to distribute the modulated optical signal to all microphones. Alternatively, more LEDs may be used to increase the optical power and/or to generate different modulation signals (one for each LED), in such a way that the microphone receives a different or slightly different sound disturbance profile. Similar principles apply to other interference techniques.

The coherent light source may be generated using a laser diode or other means, and optical artifacts such as optical fibers and lenses may be used to focus the light beam on the membrane of the microphone. The principle of use of coherent light sources is the same as that described for incoherent light sources.

The carrier signal may be modulated using a digital system or an analog system or a combination of both. These systems may be passive or active. Passive jamming systems have a fixed distribution, while active jamming systems adapt to the environment to improve the effectiveness of the jamming signal. An example of this is a passive system that produces white noise with constant power, as opposed to an active system that can change the noise distribution and/or noise power depending on the sound environment.

The non-audible interference process and technique should be designed so as not to cause physical damage, such as thermal damage, to the listener device and its microphone. At the same time, non-audible interference techniques should produce enough disturbances in the microphone to effectively mask ambient sounds. For example, the noise level perceived by the microphone is increased by a certain decibel amount, which may vary depending on the audio distribution to be blocked. Furthermore, one or several non-audible interference techniques may be used in combination with the audible interference technique to improve the sound masking effect. Other ways of increasing the masking efficiency of the interference technique may use algorithms such as, but not limited to, noise cancellation to reduce the power of the ambient sound captured by the microphone.

Passive barrier

Passive blocking may find particular use in non-integrated implementations. The discourager may have a compressible material, such as foam, to form an acoustic seal when physically attached to the listening device. The rigid or compressible part of the interceptor attached to the intercepting device may consist of other shapes of interchangeable adapters designed for various intercepting devices, and the interchangeable adapters may be 3D printed from a catalog of possible designs. The dam may use a variety of sound insulating materials and sound insulating techniques. The sound barrier material need not block all sound from reaching the listening device, but may isolate a particular amount or range of sound from reaching the listening device. For example, the acoustic foam on the blocker may allow extremely loud sounds (e.g., explosions) to reach the listening device, but may attenuate the sounds associated with the speech from reaching the listening device.

As an example of passive blocking, the listening device may be shaped like a puck with a microphone on top of the listening device, and the blocker may comprise a circular foam element attached to the top of the listening device so as to block sound waves from reaching the microphone. As another example of passive blocking, the listening device may be shaped like a cylinder and the blocker may comprise an insulating sheath that blocks substantially all sound from reaching one or more microphones dispersed around the cylinder when the insulating sheath is slid onto the cylinder.

Signal interception

The interceptor may be configured to intercept the audio data and/or the video data before the audio data and/or the video data reaches the listening device and/or a component of the listening device (e.g., a processor in the listening device). For example, rather than allowing the listening device to receive audio data and/or video data from one or more microphones and/or one or more cameras of the listening device, the blocker may be configured to receive and process the audio data and/or video data. Such interception may include interrupting, shorting, or otherwise modifying one or more transmission paths associated with the input device. For example, a wire of a microphone may be cut, and both ends of the cut wire may be inserted into the interceptor.

Interception does not require a physical connection between the input device and the interception device. For example, a listening device may be configured to receive audio data and/or video data from one or more wireless microphones and/or one or more wireless cameras. Interception of such signals may include the interceptor establishing a connection with the one or more wireless microphones and/or the one or more wireless cameras and then presenting the interceptor to the listening device as if the interceptor were the one or more wireless microphones and/or the one or more wireless cameras. In this way, the listening device does not need to know that it is communicatively connected to the interceptor. The blocker may additionally and/or alternatively employ an interfering signal or other method to prevent audio data and/or video data from being transmitted directly from the one or more wireless microphones and/or the one or more wireless cameras to the listening device.

Triggering

The blocker may wait and/or detect various triggers to determine that the blocking mode should be changed to the pass-through mode. The blocker may use sound information from one or more of the microphones to determine whether a trigger has occurred. The blocker may use the volume of the ambient sound; for example, a sound lasting at least 0.5 seconds > -50 db may be the trigger. The discourager may use a particular frequency and/or shape of the acoustic wave, a combination of frequencies and/or shapes of the acoustic wave, and/or a general pattern of frequencies; for example, the typical frequency and waveform of an adult female voice speaking syllable (but without attempting to determine what words are specifically spoken) and/or a human whistling sound may be the trigger. The interceptor may use a variety of speech recognition techniques and/or language recognition techniques (e.g., recognizing words of a particular language rather than recognizing speech without mapping them to words) to convert the voice information to text and then determine whether a particular word or phrase, such as the word "command," has been spoken, which may serve as a trigger. The interceptor may determine whether a particular pattern of frequencies and waveforms has occurred that indicates a higher likelihood that a particular word or phrase has been spoken, but typically does not convert the sound information into text; for example, the blocker may simply determine whether the word "command" has been spoken, which may be a trigger if it has been spoken, and no speech analysis is required if it has not.

The interceptor may use any source of information other than a microphone to determine whether a trigger has occurred. The blocker may have a physical button that the user presses as a trigger. The blocker may have the ability to connect to a nearby cell phone and/or wearable smart watch, such as a bluetooth connection and/or wifi connection, the cell phone and/or wearable smart watch is installed with an application having a software button, and pressing the software button causes a signal to be sent to the blocker over the connection, and such a signal may be a trigger.

The interceptor may be capable of connecting to a portable device that may detect a movement gesture, such as turning a wrist, and the portable device may determine that it is connected to the interceptor device and that the gesture has occurred, and may then cause a signal to be sent to the interceptor, and such a signal may be a trigger. Such movement gestures may correspond to, for example, accelerometer data received from different computing devices such as smartphones, portable devices, motion controllers, and the like.

The interceptor may be integrated into other devices directly and/or through intermediate devices such as servers and/or routers, where signals from other devices are considered triggers. For example, a garage door opener may send a signal to a blocker over a Wi-Fi network, and the opening of the garage door may be considered a trigger. Another example is the presence of a particular smart watch detected by various means, such as the presence of a bluetooth connection and/or the presence of a device on a Wi-Fi network, which may indicate to a blocker that a specified person, such as a parent, is nearby, where the presence of a particular person or parent may be a trigger, and the trigger may prevent eavesdropping by a child or other personal listening device without the presence of a parent. Such an embodiment may prevent a child or other individual from issuing a command to the listening device without the presence of a parent or designated person.

The interceptor may use time and date based information, such as the time of day and/or day of the week, to determine whether a trigger has occurred. For example, the time between 5 pm on monday through friday pm and 9 pm on evening or 11 pm on saturday morning and 9 pm on evening may be a trigger such that the blocker is in extended pass-through mode during these time periods.

The blocker may have and/or be integrated with a proximity sensor, a motion sensor, an infrared sensor, and/or a light sensor to determine whether a trigger has occurred. For example, an infrared motion sensor similar to those present in automatic hand dryers may be a trigger that detects that a person waves their hand in the vicinity of the blocker and/or the listening device. Another example is that the light sensor detects that a light in the living room is lit, which may be a trigger.

The blocker may include or be integrated with one or more cameras (e.g., over a network and/or inside a listening device). The blocker and/or camera may perform various processing of the visual data or perform visual recognition to determine whether a trigger has occurred. For example, the blocker may use a camera and vision process to determine that a person may be waving their hand back and forth over their head, and such waving and/or other gestures may be triggers. Another example is a blocker having both a direction detection microphone and an onboard camera that together are capable of determining that at least one person located in a determined direction of the source of speech is also looking at the listening device, where such a look at the listening device by the speaker and/or someone in the vicinity of the speaker is triggered.

The trigger may consist of one or more of the various triggers described above, including combinations thereof. Additionally and/or alternatively, one or more formulas may be used to combine the individual triggers to determine whether the probability of false positive and false negative instances has reached one or more predetermined thresholds, such that the combined trigger is deemed to have occurred, and/or to negate the assertion that the particular individual trigger has not occurred. The length of time between individual triggers may also be used in the formula and may affect the determination of whether a combined trigger has occurred. For example, pressing a physical button and/or the typical frequency of a male voice plus the sustained volume of a 50dB sound exceeds 2 seconds but is less than 5 seconds, followed by at least 1 second of silence (but only between 6 pm and 9 pm), and only if the front door has not opened within the last 4 hours as indicated by the lack of a signal from the front door sensor, and/or recognizing that the word "command" has been spoken, and/or recognizing the more common word "hello" followed by the word "send" within 5 seconds, either of which may be the required logic for the interceptor to determine that a single trigger has occurred.

Speech recognition techniques, language recognition techniques, and/or other mentioned triggers may include the use of machine learning techniques and methods, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), or models and/or algorithms generated therefrom. When application of such a machine learning model by a blocker requires a large amount of processing power, a preliminary determination of the occurrence of a trigger may be made using a method that may require less processing power but results in less accuracy. This may result in a very short pass-through state until a more reliable non-real-time processing of the trigger determination can be done. More reliable results may be used to end the pass-through state and/or allow the pass-through state to extend outside of a brief window that may allow the user to begin communicating with the listening device without delay.

The blocker may use the increase in ambient volume to determine whether a trigger has occurred. This may provide advantages in terms of: increasing the accuracy of detecting the intent to speak a comment, increasing the accuracy of detecting the beginning of a word, reducing power consumption while in a blocking mode, and/or increasing the processing response time during trigger detection by waiting for a volume increase as the preferred beginning of a time window of sound data for a test voice trigger. The increase in volume may be compared to a few milliseconds ago, such as compared to the beginning of most spoken words. Additionally or alternatively, the increase in volume may be compared to the ambient volume for a longer period of time, such as playing background music and/or the user speaking a voice trigger that is louder than the background music.

The blocker may use an input device that is electrically connected to the blocker, or remotely has a wireless connection, or a combination of both. According to some aspects, the input device need not be in the same form as integrated to the listening device, nor need the listening device be in the same form as its connection to the input device. The blocker may use the detection and/or reception of a particular Wi-Fi, bluetooth, basic RF, or other wireless signal as a trigger. The blocker may confirm the proximity of the signal, for example, based on the signal strength. Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may confirm the signal source, for example by checking the broadcast ID and/or confirming the validity of the PGP signature transmitted by the signal. The interceptor may compare the signal source to a white list and/or a black list of approved sources. For example, the blocker may use these capabilities to have geofence-based triggering or to determine that the blocker is located on top of a particular electronic mat on the table or within a predetermined distance (e.g., 10cm) of the electronic mat. Alternatively or additionally, the blocker may also use a GPS sensor dedicated to the blocker or shared with the listening device to provide geofence-based triggering. This may have benefits such as having a corporate conference room beacon emit a signature signal whereby all compatible blockers in the conference room remain in the blocking mode throughout the conference, and whereby the conference room beacon may provide feedback to the user via an installed screen and/or otherwise, the feedback containing the number and/or list of devices that have signaled to the beacon that a device has entered the blocking mode.

The interceptor may detect high frequency sounds outside the auditory spectrum, including ultrasonic, ultraviolet, or other such signals that are not readily perceptible to the user. High frequency sounds may be used to determine whether a trigger has occurred. The blocker may process and analyze the high frequency signals that are not readily perceptible using one or more of the methods described herein for detecting sound-based triggers and non-sound-based triggers. For example, detection of an ultrasonic beacon or proximity to a particular other electronic device may be used to determine whether a trigger has occurred.

In determining whether a trigger has occurred, the blocker may detect that the listening device is in an empty room, pocket, and/or suitcase. For example, the listening device may detect an empty room by detecting an amount and/or other characteristic of light (e.g., visible frequencies and/or invisible frequencies) and/or using a proximity sensor, a motion sensor, and/or an accelerometer. The interceptor may be kept in the intercepting mode when the intercepting device is located in the pocket, e.g. if the intercepting device is not intended to intercept the environment when located in the pocket of the user. The input sensor of the blocker may be shared with the host device and/or independent of the listening device.

IN determining whether a trigger has occurred, the blocker may detect that an external microphone has been inserted into itself or into a listener, such as an audio AUX-IN socket. For example, the blocker may enable a pass-through mode based on an inserted external microphone. The interceptor and/or listener may emit one or more specific tones upon first insertion and/or periodically to signal to other components that it is a privacy respecting component.

Other details relating to word trigger detection

As the ambient volume of the environment increases, the blocker may be configured to be more tolerant of false positives during the audio trigger determination. This may prevent false negatives, missed triggers, from increasing as the environment becomes noisier. The blocker may determine whether the ambient noise is caused by human speech or non-speech noise, and the blocker may use this determination to determine the effect of ambient volume on the trigger detection tolerance. The blocker may accept configurations such as user preferences in determining the effect of ambient volume on trigger detection tolerance.

The blocker may accept a whistle and/or clapping as part of the audio trigger, alone and/or in combination with the verbally triggered words. The blocker may also require a whistle and/or clap, or it may be optional, but would increase the confidence that the trigger occurred. This may be a fallback audio trigger and may assist in detection in noisy environments or other environments where it is difficult to detect only spoken trigger words.

The blocker may accept repetitions of spoken trigger words, for example as a required phrase or optional input that increases the confidence that the trigger occurred. The interceptor may use each repetition of the trigger word to determine whether each repetition is itself a trigger, and such repetition may essentially increase the likelihood of successfully detecting at least one of the repetitions, and/or the interceptor may evaluate whether any word is being repeated, and may combine the fact that a repetition is occurring with the detection of the trigger word at each repetition to increase the accuracy of the detection. The blocker may use the same and/or different detection algorithms to detect repetitions compared to detecting words, which may be assisted, for example, by having substantially similar surrounding noise and repetitions being the same speaker. The interceptor may determine whether the time between repetitions is appropriate to indicate a repeat attempt; for example, the blocker may require a repetition interval of 250 milliseconds, which may indicate intentional repetition, or the blocker may require a repetition interval within 6 seconds with a maximum of 5 spoken words in between, which may indicate that the user spoken the trigger word once and after waiting and seeing no feedback, the user tries again. This may allow the blocker to have increased accuracy in detecting trigger words on reattempts after a user's attempt fails.

Additional triggers such as triggers originating from listening devices

The interceptor may use the behavior of the listening device to determine whether a trigger has occurred. The trigger may include an initial trigger that results in a pass-through mode, and a subsequent trigger and/or acknowledgement indicating that the initial trigger is a true instance. The blocker may need to acknowledge the trigger to maintain the pass-through mode for more than a certain period of time, limited to the period of time required to detect the listening device behavior. Additionally or alternatively, the confirmation trigger may be used to extend the pass-through mode for an additional time. The detected behavior may be based on the use of the listening device, such as a phone ringing in response to receiving a call. The detected behavior may be performed by the listening device as part of its communication with the interceptor. The detected behavior may be a user configuring the listening device to perform the behavior to achieve compatibility and/or improved performance of the interceptor.

For example, the blocker may enter a pass-through mode of a listening device (such as a smart speaker) when the blocker detects the trigger word "command". Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may observe whether the home speaker behaves in a manner that suggests that the listening device itself detected its wake word (e.g., in addition to the blocker detecting that the user spoken the wake word of the smart speaker) and that the user has been notified of its handling. Such observation may involve the microphone of the interceptor listening to the output audio of the listening device to indicate a successful command to the user. For example, the smart speaker may emit a first tone (e.g., 589Hz) for a first predetermined amount of time (e.g., 75 milliseconds) and then emit a second tone (e.g., 1169Hz) for a second predetermined amount of time (e.g., 160 milliseconds). The second tone may be emitted with decay for a second predetermined amount of time. Additionally or alternatively, the smart speaker may emit a third tone (e.g., 350hz) before the ringtone. In general, the smart speakers may emit any audible and/or octave-spaced tone. In some cases, the smart speaker may speak with speech having predictable characteristics that may be detected as belonging to a listening device. Additionally or alternatively, the observation may involve a blocker with a light sensor (e.g., a photoreceptor) positioned to detect that the listening device has indicated to the user that it is processing the request with its user feedback light. The light sensor may be located within the listening device and/or located outside but facing (e.g., pointing at) the listening device. Detecting the behavior of the listening device (e.g., as an acknowledgement) may have several benefits, including shortening the time for false detection of a trigger by the blocker in pass-through mode, allowing the blocker to be more tolerant of false positive instances in trigger detection than the detection of its wake-up word by the listening device due to the limited duration of the false positive instances, and/or increasing the user's awareness of the blocking device and/or the listening device's pass-through mode. This may result in improved user privacy, for example. In addition, detecting the behavior of the listening device may be used to extend the pass-through mode. For example, a smart speaker in conversation mode may turn on its user feedback lights after detecting each additional question posed by the user. The feedback light of the listening device may be sufficient to let the user realize that the listening device is continuing to listen for a longer time. This may allow the blocker to repeatedly expand the pass-through mode without the user explicitly repeatedly triggering words.

The blocker may detect the behavior of a listening device (such as a phone or tablet) based on the pixel-based screen of the listening device being active and lit brightly enough. Such detection may use many of the methods previously described for detecting lights found on smart speakers, such as LED lights. The blocker may include a sensor placed inside the phone, outside the phone along the edge of the screen, built into a protective case around the phone, and/or built into a transparent screen protector. Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may view the power consumption of the screen, for example, if the screen is believed to be unable to increase while having the least visible light that the user can view. The blocker may allow a user to variably position the sensor and/or cause the one or more sensors to detect the average brightness of a wide area of the screen. By detecting a wide area of the screen, it may be more difficult for a device (e.g., a cell phone, tablet, etc.) to illuminate a portion of the screen to fool the blocker into pass-through mode, but there is not enough light from the screen to alert the user. The blocker may consider the time of day and/or ambient light level to determine what amount of light is sufficient to alert the user.

The interception device may signal to the interceptor that the pass-through mode can safely be ended early. Additionally or alternatively, the interception device may signal to the interceptor that the probability that the interception device is used is low. For example, a listening device may detect that its input device (such as a microphone) has become available to provide information, analyze that its own wake-up word or other requirement is not satisfied, and that a pass-through mode is not required. The blocker may receive this signal to stop the pass-through mode faster than otherwise. In another example, the listening device may know its own unique usage parameters and/or expected upcoming usage, possibly because the user's usage is typically responsive to a signal provided by the device (e.g., a warning alert). The listening device may transmit a signal to the blocker indicating a higher confidence threshold that the trigger caused the pass-through mode. The listening device may provide one or more signals (e.g., explicit signals) to improve user experience, show concerns about user privacy, and/or save power, particularly in the case of battery-powered listening devices. Such signals may be transmitted through an application specific integrated circuit (as an additional use for other integrated circuits) and/or output by a listening device through its output device, such as emitting a quiet but detectable tone through its speaker.

The interceptor may detect the behavior of the listening device directly using one or more sensors and/or by intercepting signals to components of the listening device. Detection may occur indirectly. For example, the blocker may detect a change in power consumption of the listening device and/or its processor, a change in an electrical mode within the listening device circuitry, a change in electromagnetic interference from the listening device, and/or other similar effects indicating that the listening device may be using one or more of its input devices.

For example, the interceptor may use the intercepted signal of the listener device being sent (e.g., transmitted) to the output device of the listener in determining whether a trigger has occurred. Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may use the detected output of the output device of the interceptor device, for example, in determining whether a trigger has occurred. For example, if the phone begins to ring due to an incoming call, the blocker may detect that the ring volume is sufficiently large and enter a pass-through mode so that the user can answer the call without any further trigger. Additionally or alternatively, the speaker of the phone may emit a sound with sufficient volume and/or characteristics (e.g., matching voice) during the course of a phone call so that the blocker may enter and/or extend the pass-through mode for the duration of the call. This may be due in part to the user realizing that the pass-through mode is implicit. To obtain greater assurance, the blocker may combine the use of the handset for its speaker with the detection of the user's intermittent speech to further suggest that the user is talking on the handset.

As examples of combining multiple behaviors to increase certainty with increasing pass-through length, the blocker may detect the word "command" to begin pass-through mode for a first time (e.g., 1 second), need to detect that the user speaks a wake-up word to listen to the device to extend pass-through for a second time (e.g., 1 second), need to detect that the host's light blinks to extend pass-through mode for a third time (e.g., 5 seconds), and/or need to detect the host's sound (determined to be user-detectable volume at a given known environmental condition such as ambient noise level or time of day) to extend pass-through mode for a fourth time (e.g., 20 seconds).

The barrier may use various types of listening device behaviors such as appliances being turned off or not, lighting in the house being turned on or off due to home automation, and/or the sound of a garage door being opened. These actions may be the direct intent or a byproduct of a successful command originating from the listening device or something the listening device communicates with or controls, or any combination of multiple actions.

The listener can send a signal and the blocker can receive a signal to explicitly request the pass-through mode. This may allow the interceptor to record such requests, perform throttling of request approvals, execute logic to determine whether a request should be approved, provide feedback to the user to notify the user, and/or provide increased feedback relative to more trusted triggers.

A listener, any cloud computer, a microprocessor more powerful than a blocker, and/or any general purpose computing system may provide trigger detection of input devices that need not be blocked. The trigger detection may or may not be complex and/or time consuming and/or power consuming, and it may or may not be performed by the interceptor in-progress and/or real-time. The interceptor may then receive an indication that the trigger has been found to be trusted or untrusted, and may receive meta-information about the trigger event. The interceptor may then use the meta-information already provided and use the information directly obtained by the interceptor to verify the trigger. For example, the blocker may be configured (e.g., set) to block microphone signals from reaching the smart speaker until a particular portable device is detected to be nearby (e.g., based on bluetooth presence). The interceptor may remain in the low power mode without scanning for bluetooth signals until a listener scanning for bluetooth signals detects the portable device and signals the interceptor that the portable device has been detected and identified. Upon receiving the signal, the blocker may perform its own bluetooth scan. This may allow ongoing preparation of the system as a whole, but without the need for a blocker to perform ongoing and/or real-time analysis.

The interceptor may receive configuration preferences from the listener and/or the third apparatus for triggering the selection and/or triggering the detection. The preferences may come from a set of possibilities that are all deemed sufficiently trusted by the interceptor alone or in combination with other triggers. The preferences may include which language, which trigger words, a selection of machine learning models to apply to sensor input for triggering detection, and/or a definition of models and/or parameters that may be cryptographically signed to be trusted as approved. For example, the preference may indicate whether the word "command" or the word "hello" is a trigger word, or may include an updated signature speech model. The interceptor may also enter a training and/or verification mode in which the user confirms the validity of any untrusted parameters received.

Additional triggers such as triggers originating from user processing

The interceptor may use the user's processing of the listening device to determine if a trigger has occurred. This may include an initial trigger that results in a pass-through mode, and subsequent triggers and/or acknowledgements that indicate that the initial trigger is a true instance. The detected processing may be based on the use of the listening device. For example, the user places the phone near the ear during a phone call and/or the user touches the screen of the GPS to request direction. The trigger may be detected based on an action performed by the user to communicate with the blocker (e.g., by pushing a button on the blocker and/or on the listening device). In some examples, the trigger may be detected based on a change in a modification of a usage-inherent behavior of the listening device. For example, if the user wishes the listening device to remain inactive or perform any combination of various processes, it may be based on the orientation of the listening device. User processing is applicable to many portable devices, such as cell phones, tablets, and biometric wearable devices, which are portable in nature and therefore have significant movement and/or positioning characteristics. User processing may also be applied to multiple devices that are stationary, such as smart refrigerator displays, smart microwaves, and smart thermostats, and have tactile (e.g., touch) and/or manipulation processing. Some devices may only be used when the user is handling them, while other devices are mostly or occasionally used by the user at a distance, such as smart speakers.

As with other triggers described herein, user processing may be detected, for example, in response to a processing event and/or the absence of a processing event for a certain period of time. For example, the trigger may be detected in response to a change in an accelerometer of the phone. Another trigger may be detected in response to the phone being in motion for a few minutes, or not being stationary for a sufficient period of time. Similarly, a trigger may be detected when the phone has not moved for a certain period of time (e.g., a few minutes), for example, because the phone has been left on a desk. For example, the trigger may be detected in response to the presence of a detectable object, such as an NFC tag. Alternatively, the trigger may be detected in response to the absence of a detectable object.

The blocker may use a fingerprint scanner, a touch screen and/or listening device and/or any other touch detectable component of the blocker to determine whether a trigger has occurred. For example, the blocker may determine that a trigger has occurred, e.g., if a user's finger touches the touch screen. The determination that the user is interacting with the device may be made, alone or in combination with one or more triggers, and the probability that the user desires a pass-through mode may be increased in response to determining that the user is interacting with the device. Thus, the blocker may require a lower certainty threshold when evaluating the presence of speech-based and/or motion-based triggers. Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may consider an alternative trigger to be sufficient.

The blocker can detect a tap on the phone. A tap may be detected by detecting vibration, movement, touch, etc. For many types of processing triggers, detection may simply require an event to occur one or more times. Additionally or alternatively, detection may require that the event have a particular timing and/or duration.

The interceptor may detect whether the intercepting device has been covered by the user. For example, the smart watch may end the pass-through mode when the user's hand covers the watch. Similarly, when covered and uncovered twice, the smart watch may begin a pass-through mode. For example, a user's hand moving in one direction and then suddenly moving in the other direction may initiate a pass-through mode. The pass-through mode on the smart watch may be initiated, for example, in response to a quick rotation of the wrist from vertical to horizontal, a hand moving from right to left over the top of the smart watch, a hand shaking the smart watch, and/or a user raising the hand high after being in a resting position.

The interceptor may detect that the intercepting device is placed in a moving vehicle. For example, the discourager may use one or more accelerometers and/or other motion and/or position sensors to detect vibrations of the motor vehicle. Similarly, the discourager may use one or more sensors to detect sounds typical of a motor vehicle, a user's particular vehicle, and/or traffic. In some embodiments, the blocker may detect that the user is in the vicinity of a short-range beacon and/or detectable object (e.g., an NFC tag) located inside the vehicle. The blocker may detect the trigger using a GPS sensor to detect high speed travel.

The interceptor may detect that the intercepting device is being placed in, removed from, and/or currently located within a pocket and/or suitcase. For example, a user holding a phone in a pocket may involve detecting that the phone is being held and/or is not touching anything other than a hand, and then the phone detects the fabric. Additionally or alternatively, the phone may detect downward movement that matches a reasonable depth of the pocket. In some embodiments, the light sensor may indicate darkness associated with being located in a pocket and/or suitcase.

The interceptor may detect the vibration pattern of the listening device and may only treat the vibration as a sufficient trigger if the phone is also detected as being actively handled.

The listening device and/or its housing may be touch sensitive. The blocker may detect a touch and/or grip of the user. The user's touch and/or grip may be used to indicate how the user intends to use the listening device. The indication may inform the blocker whether to enter the pass-through mode.

The blocker may detect the orientation of the device as a gesture trigger. For example, a blocker of the phone may detect that the orientation of the phone is level with the ground and that the orientation has been maintained for a sufficient period of time. This orientation may indicate that the phone has been idle on a fairly horizontal surface. Thus, the word "command" may need to be triggered before going into pass-through mode for both the phone's microphone and/or the phone's GPS sensor, and/or the user may need to toggle the physical override switch, ignoring any behavior of the phone. If the same handset is moved sufficiently after being idle on a horizontal surface, the blocker may require a lower threshold for detection of listener activity in order to enter the pass-through mode. A lower threshold for listener behavior detection may indicate that the listener informs the user that it is active. If the user wishes to maintain the pass-through mode even on a surface, the user can place the phone on top of an object and/or on a stand so that it rests at an angle rather than horizontally. Different positions and/or orientations (e.g., holding the phone vertically in the case of a phone call versus holding the phone horizontally in the case of a video conference or a speaker call) may have different effects on entering the pass-through mode. For example, the pass-through mode may be entered without any further action by the phone or the user speaking any trigger word. A trigger detectable by the blocker may be detected if the listening device is charging. For example, if other devices, such as a blocker, are also charging, a trigger may be detected. By observing the effect of charging on the circuitry and/or battery of the listening device, a trigger may be detected based on proximity to other devices, such as a charging cradle.

The blocker may detect that the user is walking using any suitable method and/or technique, such as those employed by a pedometer, to detect the number of steps taken by the user to determine whether a trigger has occurred.

The blocker may detect intentionally modified variations suggestive of a gesture to determine if a trigger occurred. For example, the blocker may detect that it is inverted while in the pocket and remains only in the blocking mode, but may also be in the blocking mode while in the pocket right side up, but may enter the pass-through mode when other triggers are encountered. Additionally or alternatively, the blocker may detect that it is inverted while in the car and remains in the blocking mode. When inside the vehicle, the barrier may ignore one or more other triggers for entering the pass-through mode. If the device allows the interface to be rotated based on a upside orientation (e.g., the screen of the device is still readable and/or touchable), this may allow the user to treat the inversion (versus right side up) as a toggle of the sensor, which is sometimes implicit, such as the phone call never inverts the phone unless put down, and sometimes explicit, such as putting the phone upside down into a cradle. Similarly, the blocker may detect a combination of lateral to longitudinal or lateral to left to longitudinal to right, and/or any other orientation or change in orientation, and use that detection as a trigger.

The blocker may use a very intentional gesture as a trigger. For example, rotating the phone while on a table, flipping it back and forth one or more times while on a table, flipping the phone back and forth in one direction and flipping it back in a particular direction, rotating it one way and then counter rotating it, and/or any other intentional gesture that may have a low probability of occurring and may be easily detected by the blocker other than when the user intentionally communicates with the blocker.

The discourager can detect a particular combination of flat orientation, lack of movement and/or absence, and/or presence of a pad (e.g., a charging pad). With a combination of triggers, the pad may be a "silent pad" that enforces a blocking mode regardless of other existing and/or configured triggers. Alternatively, the pad may be a "listening pad" that forces pass-through mode regardless of other presence and/or configuration triggers. In some embodiments, the pad may be a "modified mode pad" that changes what trigger is needed when detected in conjunction with orientation and/or no movement.

Upon determining whether a trigger has occurred, the blocker may detect that the user shakes the listening device.

The input sensor (such as an accelerometer) of the blocker used to trigger detection may be on the same circuit as the microphone and/or other input device of the listener, and a microprocessor for triggering of the input sensor may or may not be required to disable the signal of the input device of the listener to the processor of the listener.

Techniques and examples for affecting gestures of a listener input device may also be implemented without the need for a blocker. Techniques and examples of gestures affecting a listener input device may be used directly as input gestures by a listener and/or a processor of a listener, where the listener and/or processor of a listener are implemented in hardware and/or software. For example, the orientation of the handset (such as flipped up and down and/or resting on an approximately horizontal surface) may be detected by the handset operating system and used to influence whether the input means is enabled and/or whether the software of the phone chooses to process data from the input means.

Lower trigger accuracy

Unlike pressing a button, for many types of triggers, there may be a complex determination as to whether a trigger has occurred; for example, to determine if the user has said a "command". In sound-based triggering, the interceptor may use methods and algorithms that are less accurate than listening devices. This lower accuracy may make the blocker processor less powerful than the listening device's processor because the number of audio triggers is limited and the number of potential resulting actions is limited. The blocker may allow for a greater number of false positive instances than false negative instances of trigger detection, as the effect of the false positive instances may have no detrimental effect on the user experience, other than a nominal reduction in the percentage of sound being blocked.

End pass-through mode

The obstructer may use a variety of indicators to determine when to end the pass-through mode and thus change from the pass-through mode back to the obstruct mode, and these indicators may be referred to as end indicators. The blocker may use the time elapsed since entering the pass-through mode as an end indicator; for example, the pass-through mode may be limited to 15 seconds, and then the blocker may return to the blocking mode. For example, the blocker may stop the pass-through mode after a predetermined period of time. The blocker may use any type of trigger described in this specification as an end indicator. For example, the end indication may be both after 9 pm and a female voice detected. The interceptor may use metadata about the trigger that triggers the pass-through mode to determine what types of end indicators and/or parameters of those end indicators are needed; for example, if the trigger is a time of day to 4 pm, the blocker may determine that the only end indicator is a time of day to 5 pm, whereas if the trigger is the word "command" being spoken, the blocker may determine that the end indicator may be 15 seconds elapsed or detect that a different person has begun speaking, e.g., based on the frequency or other characteristics of the speech. The interceptor may receive additional metadata from the user during the triggering, the additional metadata may affect the end indicator; for example, if the word "command" is spoken as a trigger, the end indicator may default to 15 seconds elapsed, but if the phrases "command 1 hour" and/or "command long" are spoken as triggers, the end indicator may be one hour elapsed since the trigger.

The interceptor may determine that the child is speaking based on characteristics of the sound, such as frequency, pitch, waveform, etc., and may consider any child speaking as an end indicator. This may be particularly beneficial in protecting child privacy and/or preventing a child from issuing commands to the listening device. The interceptor may use speech recognition techniques to determine that a particular designated individual is speaking, and may treat that individual's speech as an end indicator. This may be particularly beneficial in protecting the privacy of certain vulnerable adults and/or preventing certain adults from issuing commands to the listening device.

The listening device may have a reserved word and/or phrase and/or other sound that the listening device detects and that the user may speak, and/or that the reserved word and/or phrase and/or other sound as a way of causing the user to indicate to the listening device that a spoken command will follow; such words and/or phrases may be referred to as "wake words," although they need not be single words and/or phrases at all. While the blocker is in the pass-through mode, the blocker may monitor sounds from the microphone and extend the pass-through mode for an additional period of time based on detecting a wake-up word in such sounds; for example, the user may say: "Command! He! Listener, now several points? … … he! And the listener plays the song. "and use each time! The listener "wakes up the word and assumes that the listening device takes action, extending the 15 second time limit for the pass-through mode by an additional 15 seconds, so that the user does not need to repeatedly speak a" command "to avoid the conversation with the listening device being cut off by the interceptor. While the blocker is in the pass-through mode and monitoring sound from the microphone, the blocker may extend the pass-through mode for an additional period of time based on determining that the user is participating in an ongoing conversation with the listening device. The determination of an ongoing conversation may be based on detecting that the user and the listening device are taking turns speaking; that is, the user has spoken, the user has stopped speaking about shortly before the listening device has provided a response to the user using its speaker, and the user has started speaking again after the listening device has completed its response. For example, if the user says: "Command! He! Listener, now several points? ", the listener answers: "9 pm", then the user says: "today's day of the week? ", the listener answers: "friday", the listener may extend the pass-through mode for an additional period of time until it is determined that the conversation is over after 5 minutes, although no trigger and wake-up words are spoken, and the blocker is configured to return to the block mode after 15 seconds. In detecting an ongoing conversation, the interceptor may use integration with the listening device speaker, as described in this document.

Straight-through pretreatment

When the blocker is in the pass-through mode, it may pass through all sound from the microphone and/or it may pre-process and/or modify the sound from the microphone before passing it to the listening device. The blocker may filter the sound only to certain frequencies, such as the frequencies of human speech; for example, if a person speaks while the microwave oven is running and/or hearing footsteps, the blocker may modify the sound by filtering the sound from the microphone so that the listening device only receives the sound of the person speaking. While this may result in improved accuracy of the listening device's speech recognition, it may also result in increased privacy by reducing the ability of the listening device to eavesdrop on activities occurring during pass-through mode. The interceptor may additionally and/or alternatively filter all sounds during periods of time that a particular volume threshold is not reached, such that sounds that are considered to be very quiet and thus determined to be unlikely to be commands intended for the listening device may be filtered; for example, background motion noise and/or low speech sounds that are ongoing during the pass-through mode may be removed from the sound before they are passed to the listening device.

The interceptor may also use speaker recognition to filter out the voice of any person who is not performing the trigger; for example, a blocker in blocking mode may detect a person using the trigger word "command" at the family party and switch to pass-through mode for 15 seconds and filter out all sounds of guests at the family party during pass-through mode except for the person issuing the trigger command so that the guests have a reduced privacy impact. To this end, the blockers may use various beamforming, source localization, and other similar techniques; the blocker may also use such techniques during trigger detection to improve the accuracy of the trigger detection. The interceptor may also have a training mode during which the user trains the interceptor with their speech, much like dictation software improves accuracy by having a training mode, and where the training data is used for speaker recognition to limit what speech is passed to the listening device.

As part of the pre-processing of the sound from the microphone, the blocker may use speaker detection followed by audio filtering, and/or alternatively may use a synthesized reconstruction of the sound, and/or a combination of both. The synthetic reconstruction may involve the interceptor receiving sound from a microphone, the processor of the interceptor performing speech recognition to convert the sound into text words, the processor of the interceptor generating the sound (i.e., the synthetic speech speaks the text), and the interceptor sending only the generated synthetic sound to the intercepting device. For example, the interceptor may determine one or more words spoken by the user, convert the words to text, and output the audio of the text-to-speech using a text-to-speech algorithm.

Alternatively and/or in addition to the speech recognition converting sound to text words, the speech recognition may convert sound syllable-by-syllable, on an utterance basis and/or otherwise, without processing the speech into specific words. Alternatively, speech recognition can convert the sound into a finer grained intermediate form by detecting each component of the syllable (such as a phone and/or language segment), which is sometimes done as part of the steps required for language recognition. The syllables, phones, and/or segments may then be used to produce sound having synthesized speech that conforms more accurately to the original speech than language identification, and/or the syllables, phones, and/or segments may be transmitted as digital data to the listening device, such as a stream of symbols representing the various possible segments, without converting them back into sound waves. These alternatives to speech recognition, whether converted back to sound waves with synthesized speech, allow the listening device to retain the ability to utilize its own proprietary speech recognition functionality and allow blockers that do not require more advanced speech recognition to require less computing power while allowing increased privacy benefits such as removing some speech characteristics that would indicate emotion and/or stress levels and/or other metadata that the speaker would not expect the listening device to access and/or maintain a long-term history.

The interceptor may communicate all or a portion of the trigger itself to the listening device and/or the interceptor may use the trigger but not provide the listening device with access to the trigger itself; for example, if the sound of the word "command" is a trigger, the sound of the word need not be passed to the listener device, but only all the audio following the word. The blocker may have both memory storage and the ability to store trigger information (e.g., one or more sounds associated with the trigger, a user-specified time period for which the trigger will be activated), as well as pass-through sounds, to allow the listening device to receive the trigger after a delay, rather than receiving the trigger in real-time, so that the user does not need to wait before speaking in a subsequent pass-through mode; for example, the interceptor may detect that the user uttered "command" and enter the pass-through mode, and while the user uttered "turn on the light," the interceptor still needs to pass the user uttering "command" and then "turn on the light," which will be delayed by approximately 250 milliseconds because the interceptor does not determine that "command" was uttered until the word is spoken. Such delayed communication by the interceptor to the interceptor device may be particularly useful if the trigger is the same phrase that the interceptor device uses as the wake word, which provides the user with the convenience of not having to speak an extra word as a trigger before beginning to speak the word that the interceptor device requires as the command prefix. The blocker may play additional predetermined sounds before passing through sound, at any point in the middle of the through sound, upon detecting silence in the through sound, or at the end of the through mode. For example, the blocker may insert a sound that the listening device will detect as its wake-up word. Delayed communication of the interceptor to the listener device may also be useful in this case of the insertion of a wake-up word, since such delayed communication may provide the user with the facility to not have to wait after triggering and before speaking to the listener device when the interceptor plays the predetermined wake-up word. In the particular case of non-integrated active blocking, the blocker can perform delayed playback of the trigger and through audio through its loudspeakers at a volume level such that simultaneous real-time sounds do not interfere with the ability of the listener device to analyze the delayed playback; the blocker may use noise cancellation to prevent real-time audio from interfering with the ability of the listener device to analyze delayed playback; the blocker may not only continue to generate noise during the blocking mode (including triggering), but also during the pass-through mode until it is determined that the user has finished speaking the command, and playback is not started until after receiving a complete command and/or detecting an end indicator. In some cases, the triggered replay may be generated by a predetermined pattern of light pulses. The predetermined light pulse may relay the trigger to the microphone.

If the listening device is at risk of behaving anomalously and/or has an undesirable behaviour when not receiving audio from its microphone, the interceptor may simulate the microphone by transmitting ambient noise, simulated ambient sound, pre-recorded ambient sound and/or a combination of these sounds, which is necessary to prevent the listening device from detecting that it is not receiving sound from the microphone.

The blocker can replay the information it receives from the input device at a faster speed. For example, if the trigger word is the same as the listener's wake-up word and/or the blocker passes the trigger word to the listener when entering pass-through mode, it may do so at a higher speed to reduce any delay that may be required by the user before speaking the subsequent command. The interceptor may also use an alias that triggers a wake-up word as a listener and/or a command to a listener. For example, the trigger word "Command" may translate to "hello! Brand, how does the weather? ". The blocker may utilize aliases at any time, including both when in the blocking mode and when already in the pass-through mode. Such pre-processing may additionally and/or alternatively cause the blocker to use an alternative communication channel to notify the listener that it is now in a pass-through mode. The listener can also detect that an input device signal is being received and bypass its own requirement for a wake-up word than when in the blocking mode.

The blocker may replay information previously obtained by the blocker, other blockers, and/or from the command library. This may enable the interceptor to interrupt the listener detection usage pattern. The playback may be an exact copy of the previously obtained information, an obfuscated version and/or a modified version of the previously obtained information, including utilizing any pass-through pre-processing described herein. The user may configure the blocker by indicating which commands may be replayed and/or which commands may not be replayed. This may allow the interceptor to avoid orders with fees and/or implications, such as ordering pizza.

Blocker configurability and logging

The discourager can be configured by a user to affect the discourager in various ways. The blocker may accept configuration information from a user, which the blocker uses to determine which type or types of triggers the blocker should use to determine that the blocking mode should be changed to pass-through mode; for example, the configuration information may include a list including a garage door open, a female voice utterance, the word "command," the word "privacy," all wifi devices to be detected, and whether each is an enabled trigger or a trigger that is not enabled. The blocker can accept the triggered configuration parameters; for example, the configuration information may include a plurality of start times and end times that form a time and date plan triggered plan. The interceptor may have a storage device to record various logging data regarding the use of the interceptor and/or listening device; examples of content that the log may contain include the date, time, and type of each trigger and the person that triggered it, the transcription of words spoken in pass-through mode, and the first 10 seconds of each pass-through mode. Additional non-limiting examples of configurable aspects of the blocker include a default length of time to remain in pass-through mode after any given trigger, a minimum volume level for the trigger, a length of silence before automatically returning to block mode, a number of entries to record in a log, a tolerance and/or minimum required probability of triggers having occurred, a selection of which information to record, a description of how to connect to wifi, whether wifi electronics within the blocker should be enabled, which language the blocker should use, setting a current time on the blocker clock, and/or a maximum pass-through mode length as a limiting override for other configurations.

The interceptor may use one or more of a variety of mechanisms to receive the configuration information and provide the logging data. The interceptor may act as a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server endpoint on the local wifi network; for example, accessing the assigned Internet Protocol (IP) address of the interceptor using a browser directed to https://192.168.0.5 might provide the user with a web browser interface that allows the user to interact in a manner similar to the configuration system of a network printer. The interceptor may allow configuration and provide logging to a bluetooth compatible device running the configuration application via a bluetooth connection; for example, the interceptor may allow configuration using a smartphone with a proprietary application designed to send configuration information to the interceptor. The blocker may have a USB connector to receive the configuration information and send the log; for example, the blocker may act as a portable file storage drive when inserted into a computer and allow the computer to send a configuration file to the blocker, which then parses the configuration file into additional configuration information.

The blocker may have a trigger type reserved for changing from a blocking mode to a configuration mode and/or a logging mode instead of a pass-through mode; for example, saying "command configuration" may cause the blocker to enter the configuration mode and/or pressing a physical button may enter the configuration mode. In the configuration mode, the blocker may receive configuration information using language identification; for example, speaking the "disable word hello" may cause the word "hello" to be spoken no longer as a trigger. The interceptor may use a speaker to communicate existing communications, configuration instructions, and/or logging data to the user. The blocker may be integrated into the speaker of the listening device (through the processor of the listening device and/or directly into the speaker of the listening device) to play sound. The blocker may use simpler audio processing than speech recognition; for example, the blocker may use a speaker to communicate to the user "if you want the word 'hello' to be a trigger, please say something else please stay silent", and then determine if more than 50db of sound has occurred in the next 2 seconds, whereby the presence of sound will make the word 'hello' a trigger, and the absence of sound will indicate that the trigger is disabled. A trigger may be assigned a specific configuration change instead of entering a configuration mode; for example, a physical button may be used to switch the bluetooth function of the blocker.

The interceptors may also be configured by other automation systems; for example, multiple blockers in a home may receive configuration information from a central configuration server to their respective Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which automatically coordinates and/or synchronizes settings between the multiple blockers and other devices.

The blocker may be trained to recognize voice triggers. The voice trigger may be initiated by a voice training mode. The speech training mode may be trained to recognize speech triggers based on an initial predetermined number of uses at the first time of use. The speech training pattern may be retrained in response to receiving a signal from the user. The voice training mode may also use any listening device response detection method as described herein to mark voice-triggered events from the user's use of the blocker as true or false positive. The voice training mode may provide additional data along with the trigger tone data, e.g., as training data, to the voice trigger detection system and/or have such data affect the trigger configuration.

A limit may be placed on the maximum impact of voice training. For example, where a large number of triggers have occurred, after extended use of the blocker, the system may stop utilizing the newer occurrences for training, stop utilizing the newer occurrences until a retraining mode is indicated by the user, and/or the new occurrences will form a rolling window of training data that continues to train the blocker but does not cumulatively exceed a determined threshold that deviates from the untrained trigger model and/or parameters.

The interceptor may detect its own trigger detection quality in terms of false negatives (e.g., missed triggers) by identifying trigger attempts that do not result in a pass-through mode. False negatives may have preceded and/or are similar to a successful trigger attempt. For example, if the user attempts to speak the trigger word "command" but the blocker is not successfully detected, the user may attempt to repeat the trigger command until successful. A successful attempt may be barely detected, but may reliably be the same user attempt as at the previous time. The interceptor may use the detection quality information with or without accompanying sound data to further train the interceptor and/or signal a recommendation to the user to perform additional training.

The interceptor may have a training mode to train what listening device behavior is expected and/or needed after entering the pass-through mode, which may allow the interceptor to be compatible with a wider range of listening devices and/or to adapt to changes in listening device behavior.

The time of day and/or date based triggering of the interceptor may be configurable, but also trainable. The time of day and/or date based triggering of the discourager can be explicitly or automatically trained based on usage trends. For example, the discourager may use any of the same methods and/or techniques used by smart home thermostats and/or learning water heaters to detect typical usage times and/or user preferences. The blocker may use time, date, and/or similar information to modify parameters, increase error tolerance of other triggers, and/or decrease error tolerance of other triggers, rather than being a direct trigger for pass-through mode.

The blocker may have very limited user interface functionality, such as lack of a screen and/or buttons. The blocker may enter the training mode using a gesture and may change the configuration using a gesture, where such gesture may be one or more of the triggering methods. For example, when the user flips the orientation of the listening device a certain number of times, the blocker may enter a training mode, which may be a gesture that is unlikely to occur during regular use of the listening device, and thus is unlikely to have false positives during detection. The blocker may then count the number of gestures (such as flipping or rotating the listening device) and such a count may correspond to a mode and/or other digital parameter value. For example, the blocker may consider the counted number of flips as corresponding to which orientation of the phone (such as upside down or counterclockwise landscape) should be the orientation indicating the blocking mode. The blocker may or may not require a processor because the more basic circuitry may detect the training pattern and store the value that is later compared to the trigger.

Regardless of whether the blocker has an indicator, the listening device may provide feedback to the user indicating whether the blocker is in the blocking mode. The feedback may assist in user feedback during testing. For example, a software application on the mobile phone may indicate whether the microphone is receiving any audio so that the user can test a blocker integrated on the phone and/or a blocker that does not have a blocker feedback indicator. During gesture-based configuration and/or training, the listening device may also monitor its input devices and/or use its output components to provide instructions and/or feedback to the user. For example, a software application on a mobile phone may enable a user to select from a list of configurations that the user wants to perform, then the software application may provide instructions on what gesture the user should perform to achieve the configuration, then the software application may provide feedback on the successful performance of each gesture and guidance on each next step (such as the cell phone flip has been placed in the correct direction (e.g., counterclockwise) and needs to flip 3 more times). This may or may not involve any communication of the listener with the blocker and may or may not require any separate feedback to be provided to the user directly from the blocker.

Preventing the listener device from being triggered (self-triggering)

The interceptor may employ one or more methods to prevent the interceptor device itself and/or other unauthorized electronic equipment from triggering the interceptor into the pass-through mode; for example, an intercepting device would be prevented from using its speaker to instruct the interceptor to make an unauthorized eavesdrop by "commanding 1 hour". The blocker may use the direction detection microphone and ignore any sound trigger from the direction of the listening device. Additionally and/or alternatively, the blocker may use an additional microphone placed in close proximity to and/or concentrated on the listening device, such that instead of a more complex general direction detection, the blocker may detect whether the listening device is outputting audio (e.g., via one or more speakers of the listening device) and/or attempting to trigger. This additional microphone may be a conventional air microphone and/or it may be a vibration sensor serving as a microphone for sound travelling through solid objects, and the vibration sensor may be attached directly to the listening device or indirectly to the listening device by being attached to a stopper contacting the listening device. The blocker may also detect whether the trigger sound is produced by a real person and/or an artificial speaker; for example, the blocker may perform a spectral analysis of the trigger sound and determine that the expected high frequency is absent, and therefore the trigger should be ignored, as it is generated by an unauthorized electronic device. The interceptor may also utilize other types of triggers as a desired combination of triggers to ensure that there is at least one witness in the event of an unauthorized electronic device and/or the intercepting means itself issuing a command; for example, the blocker may allow an artificial speaker as a trigger source, but provided that the motion detector detects that the person is in the same room as the blocker within the last 2 seconds.

The interceptor may use a more integrated approach to detect what sound is produced by the listening device in order to prevent self-triggering; for example, the interceptor may be an intermediary between the processor of the listening device and the loudspeaker of the listening device, such that the interceptor is capable of accurately monitoring the sound information sent by the processor of the listener to the loudspeaker of the listening device.

Noise cancellation (for reducing the risk of self-activation or reducing the impact of noise on trigger detection) of the output sound from an intercepting device that the interceptor processes to intercept the triggered sound input may not require the involvement of a processor. Instead, noise cancellation of the output sound of the listening device may be achieved using circuitry that combines the sound input of the blocker with the inverted version of the signal of the intercepted signal from the listener to its loudspeaker. Whether or not in combination with the inverted signal, the sound input of the interceptor may be applied after a short time delay to take into account the travel time of the sound from the loudspeaker of the interceptor to the microphone of the interceptor.

Any method of preventing self-triggering may also be used to provide additional sound information to the blocker to assist in eliminating noise or to distinguish user triggering from other sounds produced by the listening device.

Feedback to a user

The interceptor may have a variety of ways to indicate the ongoing status, other status information, and/or activity information of the interceptor to the user. The blocker may have one or more lights that indicate the mode of the blocker and/or other information to the user; for example, the blocker may have one small LED lamp that is not lit in the blocking mode, flashes for up to 15 seconds in the through mode, and continues to light for more than 15 seconds in the through mode. The blocker may provide feedback to the user using a speaker. For example, upon detecting a trigger to place the blocker in the pass-through mode, the blocker may cause the speaker to beep for 200 milliseconds. As another example, the blocker may say "blocked mode recovery" when the pass-through mode has ended or say "still listening" every hour in the pass-through mode. The blocker may send a signal to another device, which in turn notifies the user; for example, each time the express mode is entered, the blocker may send a wifi and/or bluetooth message to the smartphone, and the smartphone will vibrate upon receipt of such a message and provide the user with a visible log of the date and time of the most recent message.

Feedback to the user (also referred to as indicator and/or blocker feedback) may relate to the entire component and/or one or more specific portions of the component and/or specific behaviors, which may be collectively referred to as indicator components.

The interceptor may use indicator elements which are dedicated to the purpose of indicating to the user that the input means of the interceptor are active and/or capable of being active. The interceptor may also use indicator elements that have the purpose of being shared between the operation of the interceptor and/or the interceptor feedback, but the interceptor cannot disable the interceptor from successfully providing feedback to the user.

The interceptor may have an indicator component on the same circuit as the input device of the intercepting device so that the intercepting device may not be able to utilize its input device without activating the feedback indicator. For example, the light (e.g., LED light) may be on the same circuit as the microphone of the listener and may make it impossible for the listener to use the microphone without the LED light indicating its use to the user.

The blocker may detect an initial indicator of the use of the input means of the listener, which is dedicated to this purpose or implicit to the use of the listener, and may trigger one or more similar or different secondary feedback indicators to the user. The interceptor may preprocess the initial indicator, for example, by evaluating various characteristics, determining whether other triggers have occurred, and/or determining the likelihood that the user has known use of the input device of the listener, in order to determine whether and what type of secondary feedback is provided to the user. For example, if the blocker determines that the user is answering a call and the call has indicated such answering to the user by sounding a sound, visual feedback (e.g., an LED light) may be sufficient. However, if the blocker determines that the phone is already lying flat, the blocker may additionally select an audible beep as feedback to the user.

The interceptor may also provide feedback to the user by vibrations of the listener device.

The blocker may have a dedicated or shared purpose output port and/or connector that the blocker uses to send signals to any compatible device that is plugged in. The signal may contain information about whether the blocker is in the through mode. Compatible devices may be as simple as an LED bulb or as complex as a cloud-enabled device such as a cell phone. The compatible device may provide feedback directly to the user or allow the interceptor to communicate indirectly with another device and/or form of feedback. For example, a compatible device may include an RF transmitter that transmits a signal to a light (e.g., a light bulb) in a house such that the light (e.g., the light bulb) changes color whenever a microphone, GPS, and/or other listening device is active. The output ports and/or connectors may be limited to very low bandwidth communications to reduce privacy risks associated with data sent (e.g., transmitted) by the interceptor. The listener itself may be a compatible feedback device, which may be useful without the need to trust feedback to the user. For example, the blocker may be selected from one or more indicators to provide feedback, directly or indirectly, based on a plurality of attributes of the indicators. The characteristics of the indicator may include the presence of the indicator, the distance of the indicator from the listening device, and/or one or more configuration parameters of the indicator communicated to the blocker. For example, the interceptor may select the nearest wearable device that was previously paired with the interceptor to provide feedback to the user about the event, and such proximity may indicate which user is most likely able to confirm whether the event was an intentional eavesdropper or an unintentional eavesdropper.

The blocker may also provide feedback when not in the pass-through mode. This may have the additional advantage of notifying the user by default of a loss of power for feedback that does not guarantee privacy. This in turn may ensure that the interceptor that is dependent on the power supplied by the interceptor is not bypassed by the interceptor turning off the power supply to the interceptor. The interceptor may also have a small amount of energy storage capacity sufficient to provide feedback to the user of the interruption of power to the interceptor.

The indicator may be a light designed to appear as a "P" shape, indicating to the user that the light is privacy-related.

Instead of feedback on the blocker mode, the blocker may have an indicator related to the length of time the blocker has been in the pass-through mode and/or the length of time since the blocker was last in the pass-through mode. For example, the indicator member may be a light slider that increases (e.g., appears longer) as the length of time increases.

Container for a stopper

The physical separation and/or combination of the interceptor, intercepting device, and various components of either may be different. The interceptor may be located inside the interceptor, which is located inside the interceptor, or they may be separate. The microphone used by the listener may be physically located inside the listener, in the blocker, in the bypass and privacy modules inside the listener at installation, and/or be a separate object. The loudspeakers used by the listeners may be physically located inside the listeners, in the blockers, in the bypass and privacy modules that may be located inside the listeners when installed, and/or as separate objects. The microphones and loudspeakers used by the listeners may be physically located in the same component and/or both may be located together but separate from the blocker and the listeners.

For example, the listener may have a permanently mounted speaker without a permanently mounted microphone, and a bypass module may be provided with a microphone mounted but without a speaker. In this example, to utilize the blocker, the bypass module may be uninstalled and the privacy module containing the microphone but no speaker may be installed, and then the listener may begin using the privacy microphone through the blocker that also resides in the privacy module. Continuing the example, the privacy module may be uninstalled and a second privacy module may be installed that does not contain a microphone or speaker, but contains a bluetooth compatible system that is connectable to a standalone bluetooth microphone; the listener can then start using the separate microphone through the blocker of the privacy module.

As another example, the listener may have a permanently mounted speaker, but the listener may have the ability to connect to a separate bluetooth microphone and speaker, and the blocker may not have a permanently mounted microphone or speaker, but may not only be able to connect to one or more separate bluetooth microphones as inputs and a speaker as outputs, but may also behave as if it were a bluetooth microphone and/or speaker. In this example, the listener may be connected to the blocker as if it were a microphone and/or speaker, and the blocker may continue to allow or disallow sound information to pass, depending on what mode the blocker is in and outlined throughout this document.

The blocker may be provided separately and may be installed into the listening device by the user. The initial separation of the interceptor and the intercepting means, especially in case the interceptor is a different vendor and/or even a different manufacturer than the intercepting means, allows in many cases to increase the trust and privacy assurance of the combined system. The interceptor may also have a tamper-resistant and/or tamper-detection processor, and/or the interceptor may be comprised in a tamper-resistant and/or tamper-resistant object; this may provide increased assurance that the interceptor is an untampered component produced by a different manufacturer even when packaged and sold with the intercepting device. Tamper-related features include breakage upon detection of penetration of the secure enclosure, zeroing of data, tamper-resistant labels, tamper-resistant packaging intended to be opened only by an end user, and/or other similar methods.

Any number of components in the arrester may be part of the module, and vice versa. The module may be removable, the dam may be removable from the module, both removable, or neither removable. The module may support multiple blockers with different input device capabilities and/or the listener may support multiple modules with different capabilities. The different capabilities may include differences in trigger type, input sensor type, processing power level, and/or tamper protection level.

The blocker may be contained within the SIM card and/or match the shape of the removable memory card. This may allow the blocker to fit inside a device such as a phone without affecting its external shape.

The blocker may be contained within a protective case, such as a cell phone case, around the device. The housing with the blocker may have a battery that serves as an additional battery power source for the phone. Additionally or alternatively, the housing with the blocker may be inserted into its closed listening device to obtain power from the listening device.

Additional integration points available on a listening device

The listening device may have additional interfaces intended to be integrated with and/or intended for but capable of being integrated with a human being. The listening device may have a mute button and/or switch and may have a command button and/or switch. The blocker may have one or more robotic button movers, similar to those commonly found in "smart buttons," wherein switching the blocker between blocking mode and pass-through mode causes the button mover to push a mute and/or action button of the listening device, thereby activating a mute function and/or a different function. Additionally and/or alternatively, the blocker may be connected to a circuit between a mute/action button of the listening device and a processor of the listening device and cause a bypass of the circuit (signal sent to the listening device) each time the blocker switches mode. Additionally and/or alternatively, the blocker may act as an intermediary between the button of the listening device and the processor of the listening device and/or completely replace the button component with the blocker and/or a replacement component integrated into the blocker, such that the processor of the listening device receives a signal equivalent to pushing the button whenever the blocker switches modes. The integration with a button capable of muting the microphone may replace the blocker as an intermediary between the processor of the listening device and the microphone of the listening device.

The blocker may be integrated into other physical interface components of the listening device, such as buttons, switches, fingerprint scanners, touch screen interfaces, gyroscopes, motion sensors, etc., which are not intended to be directly related to the muting of the microphone. The interceptor may be integrated into the other interface components by intercepting and/or detecting circuitry between the other interface components and the processor of the listening device, and/or the interceptor may be an intermediary. In combination with a blocker integrated into the microphone through an intermediary between the microphone and the processor of the listening device, the integration of the blocker with other interface components may allow the blocker to detect that the component has been used by a user, switch from the intercept mode to the pass-through mode (thus starting to allow the microphone to send sound information to the processor of the listening device), and switch back to the block mode after the end indicator. Integration of the blocker with other interface components may only partially process information from the components; for example, integration with a fingerprint scanner may involve only monitoring whether the scanner has been used, and not data regarding whether the scanned content and/or the fingerprint is correct.

An example of a listening device is a smart watch with a built-in microphone and a built-in accelerometer, a blocker can be located inside the smart watch, the blocker can consist of a clock and fairly simple circuitry without any complexity of the general purpose computing processor, the blocker can be integrated to passively monitor (without interfering and/or modifying) the accelerometer to watch processor signals, and the blocker is integrated as an intermediary between the microphone and the watch's processor. In this example, the blocker may only allow sound information to travel from the microphone to the processor of the watch for 30 seconds after the accelerometer detects rotation of the user's wrist, and otherwise the microphone may be effectively muted. An alternative example is also possible in which the blocker uses its own dedicated accelerometer rather than the built-in accelerometer of the smart watch, but the above example may have the advantage of requiring fewer components, since the sharing of components is increased in a configuration that prevents the processor of the listening device from overriding or bypassing the blocker's control over when to enable or disable the flow of sound information from the microphone. In both examples, the interceptor and interceptor devices need not share any CPU, complex logic circuitry, software, and/or other general purpose computing components; this separation of the processing of the interceptor and the processing of the intercepting means may greatly reduce the risk that the intercepting means can interfere with the logic of the interceptor to perform unauthorized eavesdropping.

The listening device may also have intentional integration points and/or circuitry that may conveniently allow an external device (such as a blocker) to reliably intercept, limit, and/or switch signals between the listening device's microphone and the listening device's processor; preferably, but not necessarily, circuitry is used that will not allow the processor of the listening device to change the effect of the blocker switching mode. For example, the listening device may have the ability to receive a signal from the interceptor using a simple USB port and/or bluetooth connection, wherein the signal will instruct the listening device to stop processing sound information from its microphone and/or to wake up.

Arrester as power supply

The interceptor may comprise a battery that provides power to the intercepting device or a component of the intercepting device. The interceptor unit may be permanently mounted with the battery, or it may allow the use of interchangeable interceptors with batteries; for example, some cell phones have the ability to exchange batteries, and blockers with batteries may do a similar exchange.

Cameras instead of or in addition to microphones

The listening device may actually be a viewing device (replacing the microphone with a camera) or both, where the integrated blocker may function very similarly in the context of a viewing device, as the listening device; such systems may be referred to as viewing systems. The viewing system may share many characteristics with the listening system, and many of the techniques for the listening system described throughout this specification may be equally applied to the viewing system. The parts of this description that relate to self-triggering and pass-through pre-processing are examples of parts that need not be applied to such viewing systems. More specifically, for a viewing system, the blocker may have the same physical integration as outlined throughout this specification, but instead of sound data through a connection, it may be video data, visual data, and/or audiovisual data. The components and the position of the components of the blocker may be the same as outlined in the present description, but with a camera instead of a microphone. The parts of this description regarding the processor of the blocker, the type of trigger, the ability to use lower accuracy trigger detection, the logic to end pass-through mode, blocker configurability, blocker logging, feedback to the user, containers, and additional integration points available on the listening device may still apply.

In a viewing system, a blocker device may intercept video data transmitted from one or more cameras to one or more processors of a viewing device, process such video data, and transmit the video data to the viewing device based on the processing. For example, and as described in more detail below, the blocking device may obfuscate all or part of the video data, may remove elements of the video data (e.g., portions of the video data that may depict minors) for privacy, and so forth.

Additionally and/or alternatively, in a viewing system, instead of the blocking device acting as an intermediary between the camera and the processor of the viewing device, the blocking device may cause the lens to close and/or cover; for example, some cameras include functionality to signal whether the lens should be turned off and/or automatically turned off when the camera is disconnected from the power supply, in which case the blocking device may cause the camera to power down during the blocking mode.

When the blocker is in the pass-through mode of the viewing system, the blocker may pass through all video from the camera and/or it may pre-process and/or modify the video image from the camera before passing it to the viewing device. The blocker may filter the video to only certain locations of the camera field of view; for example, the blocker may modify the video stream to display only the upper half of the field of view and/or to display only the most recently moved part of the field of view, such that the viewing device receives only some of the data from the camera. This may result in increased privacy by reducing the ability of the viewing device to snoop activities not intended to be seen by the viewing device. The blocker can also filter all video for a period of time that does not reach a particular audio volume threshold, such that if the user does not speak, the viewing device will not receive the video stream, even though the blocker is in the pass-through mode and the viewing device is able to receive sound information. The blocker may integrate with and/or incorporate commercially available tools, such as a system that advertises on a website nuddetect. The interceptor may perform such content appropriateness checking periodically, such as only one frame every 2 seconds. The blocker may delay the video stream arriving at the viewing system for a short time, such as 3 seconds. For example, if the blocker checks for appropriateness every 2 seconds and the video stream is delayed by 3 seconds, the blocker may require less computational power than checking for every frame, but the blocker will be able to effectively block the video stream for as much as 3 seconds in the past due to the delay, allowing the blocker to reduce processing power without risking inappropriate content reaching the viewing system. Because of the potential importance of the review, the interceptor may accept a higher degree of false positive (falsely labeled as inappropriate) and a lower degree of false negative (missing inappropriate content), and thus may employ a simpler strategy to detect inappropriate content than some commercially available tools. As an example of a simpler strategy, a blocker may be configured and/or trained for what a user's skin tone is typically, may determine in real-time the proportion of frames determined to have that skin tone, and if a threshold is reached, may review the entire frame and/or only all skin tone pixels and all pixels within any given distance from any skin tone pixel.

After-sales modification process for listening devices

The user may modify the listening device to interact with the blocker and may be based on modifications to instructions provided with the blocker. For example, a user may purchase a listening device, such as a commercially available smart speaker, and turn on and/or otherwise modify one or more aspects of the listening device for use with the blocker by following instructions provided with the blocker. The user may thus install an after-market blocker on the listening device that the user previously purchased. The instructions provided with the blocker may instruct the user regarding one or more steps of installing the blocker on the listening device. For example, based on instructions (e.g., provided with the blocker), a user may cut a wire leading to a microphone of the listening device and insert each cut end of the wire into a portion of the blocker. As another example, a user may replace a portion of the listening device that includes a microphone with a blocker, which may contain its own microphone, based on the instruction. As another example, the user may replace the portion of the listening device that includes the camera with a blocker, which may contain its own camera, based on the instruction. As another example, the user may be instructed to disable (e.g., physically destroy) the listening device's microphone and connect the blocker to the listening device as an external microphone (e.g., so that the listening device may be forced to rely on the blocker).

The instructions may specify one or more steps to be taken by the user. For example, as described above, the instructions may instruct the user to cut the wire of the microphone and physically insert the end of the cut wire into the blocker. Such one or more steps may be summarized in instructions provided by the interceptor on paper, digitally, etc. For example, the blocker may be configured to guide the user through one or more steps to attach the blocker to the listening device when opened by the user for the first time.

The instructions may instruct the user to replace all or part of the listening device with an interface, and/or modifying the listening device may include replacing all or part of the listening device with an interface configured to allow the listening device to communicate with the blocker. For example, the instructions may cause the user to install a network interface (e.g., an ethernet port) on the listening device and use the network interface to connect the listening device to the interceptor. As another example, the listening device may include one or more circuit boards, and in response to the instruction, the user may replace a pre-existing circuit board with a new circuit board that causes the listening device to use the function of the blocker.

The modification of the listening device may include modifying and/or changing software executing on or in relation to the listening device. For example, the listening device may be programmed with new software that removes the restriction on the use of blockers. As another example, the interception device may be configured to allow the interceptor to access the functions of the interception device. As another example, if the listening device is part of a controlled ecosystem (e.g., a product family that is used only with other products in the family sold by the same company), the software on the listening device may be modified to trust and/or associate the blocker with a trusted portion of the ecosystem. The modification and/or change of software on the listening device may comprise physically connecting the interceptor to the listening device, executing instructions on a second computing device connected to a network to which the listening device is also connected, and the like. For example, a user of an interception device having a smartphone may first install first software dedicated to the interception device on the smartphone, establish a connection with the interception device via the first software, and then execute second software that modifies third software executed on the interception device via the connection.

Additional listener input device and listener

The input device or devices on the interceptor that are intercepted by the interceptor need not be microphones. The input device may comprise components intended for the listener to receive information about the environment of the listener, such as a microphone, a camera, a GPS, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, a light sensor, etc. The input device may also include components that do not observe the environment, but rather communication components, such as a bluetooth chipset or wifi chipset, and/or a cellular SIM card, which may or may not indirectly provide information to the listener regarding the listener's environment.

The blocker may selectively and/or exclusively determine the mode for each of the plurality of connected input devices or the plurality of listeners in their entirety. The blocker may be selective in which one or more input devices are enabled, and may be selective in which one or more listeners or components of a listener are capable of receiving information from one or more input devices. For example, the blocker may determine that the location of the phone is the trigger for a phone call and may only allow the microphone signal to enter the SIM card directly, while a different location of the phone is a different trigger and may allow the microphone signal to enter both the SIM card and the main microprocessor of the handset. This may allow the interceptor to intercept the phone call with the operating system on the smartphone.

The blocker may selectively determine the mode for each capability of the protocol of the input device. For example, the blocker may allow a bluetooth connection between the listener and a bluetooth endpoint to emit sound from the listener, but not allow microphone information to be returned to the listener. The blocker may do this by limiting the amount of data returned from the bluetooth endpoint, for example, by limiting the nature of the data returned from the bluetooth endpoint and/or otherwise allowing basic commands such as play and pause to be received, but not microphone data.

The listening device may be a tablet computer mounted on a cabinet and a mobile home assistant robot.

Multi-interceptor management

The trigger detection may have a method of distinguishing which of the one or more listeners the user intends to interact with. The blocker may have a multi-word trigger intended for multiple devices to distinguish with which listener the user wants to interact. For example, a general trigger "command" may be followed by a trigger word "phone," which may indicate that only a blocker attached to a phone can continue in pass-through mode. The blocker may enter a pass-through mode when a part of the trigger is detected and then return to the blocking mode if another part of the trigger is not detected, and the second part may be used simultaneously by the blocker as a trigger, but may also be used by the listener as a wake-up word and/or command. For example, "command hello brand a" may be the entire trigger, and the word "command" allows all blockers to go into pass-through mode so that it can receive "hello brand a" no matter which device brand is ultimately desired, without the user having to repeat it twice, and if the blocker of "brand B" returns to blocking mode, privacy implications may be minimized. A given blocker may default to holding the pass-through mode unless it affirmatively confirms that different listeners would like to alternately negatively confirm that a given blocker is the intended blocker, and this may allow the blocker to reduce false negatives (e.g., missed triggers).

The interceptor may also analyze signals from the input device to the listeners and determine that the signals are incompatible with the corresponding listeners of the interceptor. The blocker may cause the blocking mode to resume. For example, if the command "light on" is detected, the blocker for stereo without lights may return to the blocking mode.

Benefit of privilege granularity

A blocker that is in a blocking mode and/or prevents a processor of one or more listeners from accessing data from an input device of the listener may have the benefit of providing a user with a finer grained authority over the listener and/or software applications of the listener compared to configuration options the listener includes for the user. For example, the listener may have a single software permission setting for each application that indicates whether the application may utilize the camera input device and/or associated camera flash. However, using a blocker, the user may be able to give the software application operating system defined rights to the camera and flash pair, but the application will only be able to signal the flash and not be able to access the camera while in the blocking mode. As another example, a user would be able to enable location services on the operating system of a cell phone for a software application that requires bluetooth beacons to operate and that can be used to track the user's location and thus requires location services, and still discourage applications from using GPS location.

Other examples of combinations

The following are intended to be non-limiting examples of combinations of various embodiments and/or features as described herein.

As a first example, a stationary smart speaker with a microphone and a mute button has a voice activated blocker. The blocker may be USB powered, include a microphone, have an LED light that is turned on whenever the blocker is in the pass-through mode, automatically press a mute button of the smart speaker whenever the mode switches to the pass-through mode due to the user speaking a wake-up word, automatically press a mute button of the smart speaker after a certain period of time has elapsed to switch back to the block mode, and/or require that a light sensor (positioned to detect whether the smart speaker has indicated to the user that the smart speaker has received a command) be activated, and if the light sensor is not activated, the blocker terminates the pass-through mode more quickly.

As a second example, a user's handheld phone with an input device microphone and/or GPS may have a voice activated blocker. The blocker may draw power from circuitry on the phone, block signals between an input device of the phone and a processor of the phone while in the blocking mode, monitor a microphone signal to obtain a wake-up word, switch to the pass-through mode when a user speaks the wake-up word, and return to the blocking mode after a termination trigger is spoken and/or a period of time has elapsed.

As a third example, a user-held phone with a microphone and camera as input components may have a gesture-activated blocker. The blocker can draw power from the handset battery, has no microprocessor, intercepts signals between the input device of the phone and the circuitry of the processing device connected to the phone, and has at least an accelerometer. The blocker may remain in the blocking mode for at least 2 seconds when the handset is at rest, facing up or facing down on an approximately horizontal surface, when the handset is inverted whether stationary or moving, and/or when the handset was recently inverted but now tilted sideways and/or in another position but (since inversion) not yet at least within 10 degrees of the right lateral direction. As an extension of this example, but in the case of the blocker having a microprocessor, the blocker may also use the microphone of the phone to determine whether the voice trigger overrides the gesture trigger, the blocker may detect 2 seconds of extended shaking to force the pass-through mode for a predetermined and/or predefined amount of time (e.g., 2 hours) from the time of each shaking, and if the phone is upside down, it has a more sensitive threshold for each shaking.

Inspection and hearing device

The listening device may undergo a check to determine the privacy designation associated with the listener. Such inspection may be performed by physical inspection of the listeners and/or inspection of the principle diagrams of the listeners. The checking steps need not be performed in the order listed herein. An inspector may examine the listening design to determine if a particular pin of the processor is directly connected to one or more input devices (sensors) and/or has a path to one or more sensors, the entire length of the path may be examined and the path may not have an unchecked gap. The inspector can check whether the circuitry directly or indirectly connected to the sensor is sufficiently isolated that certain components between the sensor and the processor cannot be bypassed. The inspector may inspect certain components in between to provide sufficient feedback to the user at any point where the sensor provides a signal to the processor. The inspector can check whether the microprocessor of the interceptor, which is separate from the main processor of the intercepting means, cannot reprogram or update the software by any circuitry connected to the interceptor microprocessor. If all of the above are true, then a listening device may be assigned a high privacy metric.

Miscellaneous items

The robot button pusher that can push the listening device mute button can also be a robot toggle switch, a camera shutter slider, and/or various equivalent physical manipulators corresponding to the manipulation controls on the listening device.

The processor of the blocker and the processor of the listener may or may not both be located on the same shared circuit board.

The processor of the interceptor and the processor of the interceptor may have additional protection and/or separation to ensure that the interceptor cannot affect the operation of the interceptor.

Drawings

Fig. 1-6 may be used to implement the above features, as described below. Fig. 1 depicts an illustrative system in which a blocker device 101 is integrated into a listening device 102. For example, fig. 1 may implement the features described above with respect to a device integrated into a listening device, and may implement the features described elsewhere herein. Listening device 102 may include a processor 103, a power connection 107, one or more microphones 106, and other components. The processor 103 and other elements of the listening device 102 may be different from similar elements of the interceptor device 101. For example, both the listening device 102 and the interceptor device 101 may have a processor, although different processors. Listening devices may be connected to listening device server 109 via a WAN. The listening device 102 may provide power to the interceptor device 101 via the power connection 108. The blocker may have one or more microphones 104 that the blocker may use when in both the pass-through mode and the block mode. One or more microphones 106 may have one or more connections 105 to the processor 103 through the blocker device 101 as an intermediary, and the processor 103 may utilize the one or more connections only when the blocker device 101 is in the pass-through mode. One or more microphones 106 may be connected, for example, by two wires 105, and the blocker device 101 may only need to be in line with one section of the circuit (the output section, which may also be referred to as a signal line) between the processor 103 and the one or more microphones 106, while another wire may be directly connected to the processor 103, but cannot independently provide audible information to the processor 103.

Fig. 2 depicts an illustrative system in which a blocker 201 can be integrated with a listening device 202. The discourager 201 may generally correspond to an integrated form of the discourager, as described above, and may implement features described elsewhere herein. Listening device 202 may include, among other components, a processor 203, a power connection 207, and one or more microphones 206 (e.g., a set of microphones). Listening device 202 may also have a module receptacle that may accept bypass module 210 and/or privacy module 211. Listening device 202 may connect to listening device server 209 via a WAN. Listening device 202 may provide power to arrester 201 through a power connector 208 of listening device 202 that is connected to a power receiving connector 212 of a bypass module 210 containing arrester 201. With the privacy module 411 installed, the power connector 208 may not be connected to anything. One or more microphones 206 may have one or more connections 205, as shown by the two wires in fig. 2, which may lead to a connector of the module socket that will connect to a corresponding connector on the bypass module 210 and/or privacy module 211. The modular jack may also have one or more additional connections between the other two connectors of the modular jack to the processor 203. The bypass module 210 and the privacy module 211 may have protrusions 213 that may assist the clamp 204 in securing the module into the module socket of the listening device 202. If the bypass module 210 is installed in a module socket, the one or more microphones 206 and the processor 203 of the listening device may be connected to each other without any intermediary. If the privacy module 211 is installed in a module socket, both wires from the one or more microphones 206 have blockers 201 as intermediaries for their connection to the listening device's processor 203.

Fig. 3 depicts an illustrative system in which the interceptor device 301 is not tightly integrated with the listening device 302. The blocker 301 may generally correspond to a non-integrated form of the blocker, as described above, and may implement features described elsewhere herein. Listening device 302 may include a processor 303, a power connection 307, and one or more microphones 306, among other components. Listening device 302 may be connected to listening device server 309 via a wide area network. The blocker device may include one or more microphones 304 (which may be a group of microphones or the like), one or more speakers 305, and a power source 308. The blocker device 301 may play noise through its speaker 305 to interfere with one or more microphones 306 receiving sound from the environment, and may stop playing noise when it detects a trigger using one or more microphones 304.

Fig. 4 shows different ways in which the interceptor 401 may be integrated into the intercepting means 402. The blocker 401 may generally correspond to an integrated form of the blocker, as described above, and may implement features described elsewhere herein. Listening device 402 may include a processor 403, a power connection 407, and one or more microphones 406, among other components. The listening device may also have a module receptacle that may accept the bypass module 410 and/or the privacy module 411. Listening device 402 may connect to listening device server 409 via a WAN. The listening device 402 may provide power to the blocker 401 through a power connector 408 of the listening device 402 connected to a power receiving connector 412 of a privacy module 411 containing the blocker 401. With the bypass module 410 installed, the power connector 408 may not be connected to anything. One or more microphones 406 may have one or more connections 405, in this case a one wire connection, that lead to a connector of the module socket and connect to a corresponding connector on the bypass module 410 and/or privacy module 411. One or more speakers of listening device 402 may have a connection 414, in this case shown as a one wire connection, that is connected to a connector of the module socket that will connect to a corresponding connector on bypass module 410 and/or privacy module 411. The modular jack may also have a connection between the other two connectors of the modular jack to the processor 403. The bypass module 410 and the privacy module 411 may have protrusions 413 that may be combined with the clip 404 to secure the modules into the module sockets of the listening device 402. If the bypass module 410 is installed in a module socket, one or more microphones 406 and speakers may be connected to the listening device's processor 403 without any intermediary. If the privacy module 411 is installed in the module socket, both the one or more microphones 406 and the speaker have the blocker 401 as an intermediary for their connection to the processor 403 of the listening device. The privacy module 411 and/or the blocker 401 therein may be connected to one or more microphones 416 via a wireless connection 417 (such as a bluetooth connection); the one or more microphones 416 may assist in trigger detection when the blocker is in the blocking mode, and/or alternatively the privacy module may use its connection with the one or more microphones 416 in place of the need for the one or more microphones 406 to be connected to the listening device. The privacy module 411 and/or the blocker 401 may lack the ability to connect 415 to a WAN.

Fig. 5 illustrates hardware elements of a computing device 500 that may be used to implement any of the devices illustrated in fig. 1-4. For example, the listening device may, but need not, include a computing device. Similarly, the blocker may, but need not, be implemented as a computing device, such that the processor discussed above with respect to the blocker may be the same as or similar to the processor described with respect to fig. 5, and/or the processor of the blocker as shown in fig. 1-4 may, but need not, include a computing device. Computing device 500 may include one or more processors 501 that may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the functions described herein. The instructions may be stored in Read Only Memory (ROM)502, Random Access Memory (RAM)503, removable media 504 (e.g., a USB drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)), and/or in any other type of computer-readable medium or memory. The instructions may also be stored on an attached (or internal) hard drive 505 and/or other types of storage media. Computing device 500 may include one or more output devices, such as a display device 506 (e.g., an external television and/or other external or internal display device) and speakers 514, and may include one or more output device controllers 507, such as a video processor. The one or more user input devices 508 may include a remote control device, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen (which may be integrated with the display device 506), a microphone, and so forth. The computing device 500 may also include one or more network interfaces, such as a network input/output (I/O) interface 510 (e.g., a network card) to communicate with an external network 509. The network I/O interface 510 may be a wired interface (e.g., electrical, Radio Frequency (RF), optical (via fiber optic)), a wireless interface, or a combination of both. The network I/O interface 510 may include a modem configured to communicate via an external network 509. The external network 509 may include communication links to, for example, an external network 509, a home network, a network provider wireless, coaxial, fiber optic, or hybrid fiber/coaxial distribution system, or any other desired network. Computing device 500 may include a location detection device, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) microprocessor 511, which may be configured to receive and process global positioning signals and determine a geographic location of computing device 500 with possible assistance from external servers and antennas.

Although fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration, one or more of the elements of computing device 500 may be implemented as software or a combination of hardware and software. Modifications may be made to add, remove, combine, divide, etc., components of computing device 500. In addition, the elements shown in fig. 1-4 may be implemented using basic computing devices and components that have been configured to perform operations such as those described herein. For example, the memory of computing device 500 may store computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processor 501 and/or one or more other processors of computing device 500, cause computing device 500 to perform one, some, or all of the operations described herein. Such memory and processor may also, or alternatively, be implemented in one or more Integrated Circuits (ICs). The IC may be, for example, a microprocessor that accesses programming instructions or other data stored in ROM and/or hardwired into the IC. For example, the IC may comprise an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) having gate logic and/or other logic dedicated to the computations and other operations described herein. The IC may perform some operations based on execution of programming instructions read from ROM or RAM, while other operations are hardwired to gate logic or other logic. Further, the IC may be configured to output the image data to the display buffer.

Additionally or alternatively, the blocker device may be implemented using circuitry (e.g., application specific circuitry) configured to perform the features described herein. For example, the blocker may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) specifically configured to detect and process one or more sounds. As another example, the blocker may include low-level circuitry configured to detect the presence of sound. The interceptor may be configured without memory to prevent modification of the memory by, for example, an unauthorized party. In other words, although fig. 5 depicts a computing device, neither the interceptor device nor the listening device need be a computing device. For example, the interceptor device may be configured using the circuitry entirely so as to reassure a user of the interceptor device that the interceptor device is unable to store and transmit audio data to a third party.

As described above, a blocking device may be installed to prevent communications (e.g., signals) from reaching the listening device. Fig. 6 shows a flow diagram of a process 600 for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device. Some or all of the steps of process 600 may be performed using one or more computing devices described herein, such as arresting device 101.

In step 610, a blocking device, such as the blocking device 101, may receive a first signal. The first signal may be audio data, video data, or some other communication received from the microphone. The microphone may be part of a module mounted in the listening device. In some cases, the module may be a blocking device installed between a microphone and a processor of the listening device. Additionally or alternatively, the microphone may be part of the listening device. Alternatively, the microphone may be a microphone of a blocking device configured to intercept signals intended for the listening device. In this regard, a microphone may replace the microphone associated with the blocking device. Intercepting a signal intended for a listening device may include preventing one or more signals from the first microphone from being received by the listening device. In this regard, the intercepting device may be configured to intercept the signal by interrupting one or more wires of the listening device.

In step 620, the blocking device may determine whether the signal matches the trigger. As described above, the trigger may be an audio command recognized by the blocking device. The trigger may be used to activate a blocking mode of the blocking device, which may prevent signals from reaching the listening device. Similarly, a trigger may be used to deactivate the blocking mode. With the blocking mode deactivated, the blocking device may allow signals to pass through the blocking device and to the listening device. Determining whether the signal matches the trigger may include detecting one or more sounds associated with the audio trigger using one or more of the techniques described above. In some cases, the audio trigger corresponds to a command of the listening device. In a preferred embodiment, the command may be one or more spoken words. If the signal does not match the trigger, the blocking device may block the signal from reaching the listening device in step 625. The arresting means may use any of the arresting techniques described above, such as active arresting, passive arresting, etc. In some cases, preventing the signal from reaching the listening device may include preventing the listening device from receiving the entire signal. In this regard, the arresting means may be configured to remove a portion of the one or more signals from the first microphone prior to transmitting the one or more signals to the listening means. The barring device may deactivate the barring mode when the signal does match the trigger.

In step 630, the arresting means may receive the second signal from the microphone. The second signal may be received after the arresting means have been deactivated. Much like the first signal, the second signal may be audio data, video data, and/or some other communication received from the microphone. In step 640, the blocking device may determine whether the second signal matches the trigger. If there is a match, the computing device may reactivate the blocking mode and return to step 625. Thus, the second signal may be completely or partially prevented from reaching the listening device. The arresting means may start monitoring the trigger again.

However, when the second signal does not match the trigger, the blocking device may send the second signal to the listening device in step 650. Sending the second signal to the listening device may include allowing the listening device to receive one or more second signals. As shown in fig. 6, process 600 may continue to allow signals to pass to the listening device until the blocking device receives a trigger to reactivate the blocking mode. In some examples, the arresting device may allow the listening device to receive the one or more second signals for a temporary period of time. At the end of this time period, the blocking device may reactivate the blocking mode to intercept and prevent any signals from reaching the listening device.

Fig. 7 shows an example for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device. Some or all of the steps of process 700 may be performed using one or more computing devices described herein, such as arresting device 101.

In step 710, blocking circuitry may receive a first signal. The blocking circuitry may be located in the same housing as the one or more processors of the smart device. When in the non-triggered state, the blocking circuitry may ground each communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors. In some embodiments, the blocking circuitry may indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected. Additionally or alternatively, the blocking circuitry may indicate when the blocking circuitry is in a trigger state. The blocking circuitry may not be able to communicate over the network used by the smart device. In other embodiments, the blocking circuitry may be a removable device adapted to connect to the smart device via one or more interfaces. The first signal may be generated by at least one microphone of the smart device. As mentioned above, the first signal may comprise audio data, video data or some other communication received from a microphone that is part of a blocking module installed in the listening device and/or part of a module installed in the listening device. The blocking circuitry may be located between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors of the smart device.

In step 720, the blocking circuitry may determine whether it is in an un-triggered state. When the blocking circuitry is not in the un-triggered state, the blocking circuitry may allow the first signal to pass to the listening device in step 725. However, in step 730, the blocking circuitry may prevent the first signal from being received by the one or more processors of the smart device. Preventing reception of the first signal may include grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the at least one microphone. Additionally or alternatively, preventing reception of the first signal may include outputting a third signal to one or more processors of the smart device. The third signal may include one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device. The first volume of the one or more first sounds may be based on the second volume of the one or more second sounds. The blocking circuitry may determine the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds for a certain period of time in an un-triggered state.

In step 740, the blocking circuitry may detect a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry. The first trigger may be detected using an input device of the blocking circuitry. The first trigger may be different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device. The first trigger may be an audio trigger received from the at least one microphone. The audio trigger may be a command spoken by the user. The command may be spoken within a predetermined distance of the smart device. The first trigger is configurable by a user. The smart device may include the at least one microphone. The blocking circuitry may process the audio trigger, for example, using a speech recognition algorithm. The blocking circuitry may determine, for example based on the processing, that the one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state. In some embodiments, the first trigger may correspond to movement detected by an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry. Additionally or alternatively, the first trigger may correspond to a movement detected by the wearable device.

In step 750, the blocking circuitry may temporarily enter a trigger state based on detecting the first trigger. The blocking circuitry may be configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger, e.g., based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger. The blocking circuitry may be configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by processing the second signal to conceal the identity of the at least one user and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors of the smart device. In step 760, the blocking circuitry may allow the one or more processors of the smart device to receive the second signal generated by the at least one microphone. After a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed, the blocking circuitry may return to the un-triggered state.

Fig. 8 shows an example for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device. Some or all of the steps of process 800 may be performed using one or more computing devices described herein, such as arresting device 101.

In step 810, the arresting means may receive a first signal. The first signal may be received via the at least one first microphone of the blocking device. The blocking device may ground each communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors when in the un-triggered state. In some embodiments, the blocking circuitry may indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected. Additionally or alternatively, the blocking circuitry may indicate when the blocking circuitry is in a trigger state. The blocking circuitry may not be able to communicate over the network used by the smart device. In other embodiments, the blocking circuitry may be a removable device adapted to connect to the smart device via one or more interfaces. The first signal may be generated by at least one microphone of the smart device.

In step 820, the arresting device may determine that the first signal corresponds to one or more sounds of an environment associated with the smart device. The first volume is configured to be greater than a volume of the one or more sounds. The blocking means may record the first signal for a certain period of time, for example if the blocking means is in an un-triggered state.

In step 830, the arresting device may output a first signal to at least one second microphone of the smart device. The blocking device may output the first signal using an output device of the blocking device. The first volume of the first output signal may be configured to be greater than a volume of the one or more ambient sounds. The blocking may select the one or more first signals to output based on a volume of the one or more first signals meeting a threshold. The first signal may be based on one or more sounds of an environment associated with the smart device. In some embodiments, the first output signal may be configured to simulate speech uttered by one or more users of the smart device. The first signal may be configured to block the at least one second microphone from receiving ambient audio when the blocking device is in the non-triggered state. Blocking reception of ambient audio may include masking at least a portion of the at least one first microphone.

In step 840, the blocking device may detect a first trigger associated with activating the blocking device. The first trigger may be detected using an input device of the blocking device. The first trigger may be different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device. The first trigger may be an audio trigger received from the at least one microphone. The audio trigger may be a command spoken by the user. The command may be spoken within a predetermined distance of the smart device. The first trigger is configurable by a user. The smart device may include at least one microphone. The blocking means may process the audio trigger, for example using a speech recognition algorithm. The blocking means may determine, for example based on the processing, that the one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state. In some embodiments, the first trigger may correspond to movement detected by an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry. Additionally or alternatively, the first trigger may correspond to a movement detected by the wearable device.

In step 850, the arresting means may temporarily enter a triggered state based on detecting the first trigger. The blocking device may be configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger, e.g., based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger. The blocking device may be configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by processing the second signal to conceal the identity of the at least one user and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors of the smart device. In step 860, the blocking device may allow the one or more processors of the smart device to receive the second signal generated by the at least one microphone. After a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed, the blocking circuitry may return to the un-triggered state.

Fig. 9 shows an example for intercepting a signal intended for a listening device. Some or all of the steps of process 900 may be performed using one or more computing devices described herein, such as arresting device 101.

In step 910, the arresting means may detect the first signal. Detecting the first signal may include detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one microphone of the smart device and one or more processors of the smart device. Additionally or alternatively, detecting the first signal may include monitoring one or more circuits of the smart device. In some embodiments, detecting the first signal may include monitoring power usage of the smart device.

In step 920, the blocking device may determine that the blocking circuitry is to prevent receipt of the first signal while the blocking circuitry is in the un-triggered state. Preventing reception of the first signal may include implementing each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors via blocking circuitry. Preventing reception of the first signal may include grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the at least one microphone.

In step 930, the blocking device may detect the second signal. The second signal may be one or more electrical signals associated with a communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device.

In step 940, the blocking device may detect a first trigger based on the second signal. Detecting the first trigger based on the second signal may include, for example, determining that the blocking circuitry detected the first trigger based on the second signal. The second signal may be detected using an input device of the blocking circuitry. The first trigger may be associated with activating blocking circuitry. The first trigger may be different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device. The first trigger may include an audio trigger received from the at least one second microphone, an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry, and/or a movement detected by the wearable device.

In step 950, the blocking device may enter a triggered state based on detecting the first trigger. The arresting means may be configured to temporarily enter the trigger state. The blocking device may be configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by processing the second signal to conceal the identity of the at least one user and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors of the smart device. In step 960, the blocking device may receive a third signal. In step 970, the blocking device may allow the one or more processors of the smart device to receive the third signal. In some cases, the blocking device may assign a privacy level to the blocking circuitry, e.g., based on the first signal, the second signal, and/or the third signal. After the time period associated with the trigger state has elapsed, the blocking may resume and process 900 may restart.

Fig. 10 shows an example for intercepting a signal intended for a mobile device. Some or all of the steps of process 1000 may be performed using one or more computing devices described herein (such as arresting device 101 and/or device 500).

In step 1010, a device, such as the arresting device 101, may detect a position and/or orientation of a device, such as a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, a cellular phone, a tablet, a laptop, etc.). As described above, the position and/or orientation of the device may be determined using one or more sensors, such as an accelerometer located on the device. In some cases, detecting the position and/or orientation of the device may include determining whether the device has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time and/or in which direction the device is facing (e.g., face up, face down, side down, tilted, etc.). In a further example, detecting the position and/or orientation of the apparatus may comprise determining a first orientation and a second orientation of the apparatus. The device may determine whether the second orientation of the mobile device satisfies a threshold, such as holding the device at a predetermined angle (e.g., ≧ 10 degrees). If the second orientation does not satisfy the threshold, the apparatus may remain in the blocking mode. However, if the second orientation does meet the threshold, the apparatus may enter a trigger state, such as a pass-through mode.

In step 1020, a device (e.g., the arresting device 101) may receive one or more first signals. The one or more first signals may be received via at least one first microphone of the arresting means. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more first signals may be received via a microphone of a device, such as device 500 (e.g., a mobile device). In some cases, the one or more first signals may be obtained by an image capture device of the mobile device. In step 1030, the device (e.g., the barring device 101) may determine whether the device is in a barring mode. As mentioned above, the blocking mode may be a default operation of the blocking means. Additionally or alternatively, the blocking mode may be entered in response to one or more user inputs. If the device (e.g., the barring device 101) is not in the barring mode, then in step 1035 the barring device may allow the processor of the mobile device to receive one or more signals.

However, when the blocking device is in the blocking mode, the blocking device may block the one or more first signals in step 1040. Intercepting the one or more signals may include preventing reception of the one or more first signals by one or more processors of the mobile device. The one or more signals may be prevented from reaching the one or more processors by interrupting a transmission medium of the mobile device, interrupting one or more conductors of the mobile device, and/or grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with one or more inputs of the mobile device. In some embodiments, the blocking circuitry may indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected.

In step 1050, the blocking device may detect a trigger associated with the trigger state. The trigger may include a gesture input, such as a shaking movement and/or other repetitive motion. Additionally or alternatively, the gesture input may be a series and/or sequence of positions and/or orientations of the mobile device. In a further example, the trigger may also include an audio trigger. The audio trigger may be received via one or more inputs of the blocking device and/or the mobile device. The audio trigger may include a command spoken by the user within a predetermined distance of the mobile device. In some cases, the audio trigger may override one or more of the gesture inputs. If no trigger is detected in step 1050, process 1000 may return to step 1020. However, when a trigger is detected in step 1050, the process 1000 may proceed to step 1060.

In step 1060, the blocking device may enter a triggered state. As described above, the trigger state may be a pass-through mode that allows one or more signals to be transmitted to one or more processors of the mobile device. In some cases, the blocking device may be configured to temporarily enter a trigger state to allow receipt of the one or more second signals. In step 1060, the blocking device may receive one or more second signals. Much like the one or more first signals discussed above, the one or more second signals may be received via at least one microphone of the barring device and/or the mobile device. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more second signals may be obtained by an image capture device of the mobile device. In step 1070, the blocking device may allow the one or more processors of the mobile device to receive the one or more second signals received via the one or more inputs. After the time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed, the blocking device may return to the un-triggered state and processing may begin again at step 1010.

By using the devices, processes, and techniques discussed herein, a higher level of privacy may be obtained from home listening devices such as smart speakers, personal assistants, and the like.

Although the terms "arresting device", "listening device", its processor and its microphone have been described herein such that, for example, the arresting device is described as having a processor and the listening device is also described as having a different processor, the devices described herein may be modified. For example, the phrase herein referring to the processor of the blocker may refer to the blocking device as a whole, or vice versa. Similarly, as another example, phrases herein relating to a processor of a listening device may relate to the listening device as a whole, or vice versa. The one or more microphones and/or one or more cameras described herein may be internal to, attached to, or remote from any of the devices herein. For example, as described above, one or more microphones may be wireless.

Exemplary embodiments

In the following, various features will be highlighted in a set of numbered clauses or paragraphs. These features should not be construed as limitations of the invention or of the inventive concept, but merely as a highlighting of certain features described herein, and not as a suggestion of the importance or particular order of relevance of such features.

Clause 1. a barrier device, comprising: intercept circuitry configured to prevent transmission of ambient audio from a microphone to a listening device; listening circuitry configured to determine an audio trigger in the ambient audio using the microphone; and output circuitry configured to allow the listening device to receive a second ambient audio based on the audio trigger.

Clause 2. the blocking device of clause 1, wherein the interception circuitry is configured to block transmission of the ambient audio from the microphone to the listening device by intercepting a signal from the microphone to the listening device.

Clause 3. the arresting device of any one of clauses 1-2, wherein intercepting the signal comprises interrupting a transmission medium of the listening device.

Clause 4. the barring device according to any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the device is configured to prevent the transmission of the ambient audio from the microphone to the listening device when installed in a second computing device.

Clause 5 the barring device according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the interception circuitry is further configured to prevent the listening device from receiving a third environmental audio after a predetermined period of time and after allowing the listening device to receive the second environmental audio.

Clause 6. the barring device according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the listening device is connected to a network, and wherein the barring device is not connected to the network.

Clause 7. the arresting apparatus according to any one of clauses 1-6, wherein the listening circuitry is configured to ignore audio originating from the listening apparatus.

Clause 8. the arresting device according to any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the audio trigger comprises a spoken command.

Clause 9. the barring device according to any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the listening circuitry is configured to use a speech recognition algorithm on the spoken command to determine the audio trigger.

Clause 10. a computing device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to: preventing transmission of one or more sounds from the microphone to the second computing device; monitoring the one or more sounds via the microphone; determining that the one or more sounds are associated with an audio trigger; and allowing the second computing device to receive one or more second sounds via the microphone based on the audio trigger.

The computing device of clause 11, the computing device of clause 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to monitor the one or more sounds via the microphone by intercepting a signal transmitted from the microphone to the second computing device.

Clause 12. the computing device of any of clauses 10-11, wherein the computing device is connected to the second computing device via a wireless network, and wherein the computing device is configured to appear to the second computing device as a second microphone.

Clause 13. the computing device of any of clauses 10-12, wherein the computing device is a module installed into the second computing device.

The computing device of any of clauses 10-13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computing device to: based on determining that one or more second sound sources are from the second computing device, ignoring the one or more second sounds.

The computing device of any of clauses 10-14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow the second computing device to receive the one or more second sounds by causing the computing device to: transmitting the one or more second sounds to a second microphone associated with the second computing device via one or more speakers.

Clause 16. the computing device of any of clauses 10-15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow reception of the one or more second sounds after reception of the one or more third sounds by the microphone.

The computing device of any of clauses 10-16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow the second computing device to receive the one or more second sounds by transmitting one or more third sounds to the second computing device based on the one or more second sounds.

Clause 18. the computing device of any of clauses 10-17, wherein the one or more third sounds comprise text-to-speech data generated based on the one or more second sounds.

The computing device of any of clauses 10-18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to allow the second computing device to receive the one or more second sounds by excluding a portion of the one or more second sounds associated with the audio trigger.

Clause 20. a system, comprising: a first computing device, the first computing device comprising: a first microphone; one or more first processors; and a first memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more first processors, cause the first computing device to receive audio content via the first microphone; and a second computing device, the second computing device comprising: a second microphone; one or more second processors; and a second memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more second processors, cause the second computing device to: intercepting a signal from the first microphone to the first computing device; detecting one or more second sounds associated with an audio trigger using the second microphone; and allowing the first computing device to receive one or more third sounds based on the audio trigger.

Clause 21. the system of clause 20, wherein allowing the first computing device to receive the one or more third sounds comprises: generating the one or more third sounds based on the one or more second sounds.

Clause 22. the system of any of clauses 20-21, wherein the second computing device is installed into the first computing device, and wherein the first microphone and the second microphone are the same.

The system of any of clauses 20-22, wherein intercepting the signal from the first microphone to the first computing device comprises: transmitting one or more fourth sounds to the first computing device.

Clause 24. the system of any one of clauses 20-23, wherein the one or more fourth sounds are based on a sound recorded by the second computing device.

Clause 25. the system of any of clauses 20-24, wherein intercepting the signal from the first microphone to the first computing device comprises: activating a mute function of the first computing device.

Clause 26. the system of any of clauses 20-25, wherein the one or more second sounds are spoken by a user, and wherein the audio trigger is defined by the user.

The system of clause 27. the system of any of clauses 20-26, wherein allowing the first computing device to receive the one or more third sounds is based on determining that the one or more third sounds do not originate from a speaker associated with the first computing device.

Clause 28. the system of any of clauses 20-27, wherein intercepting a signal from the first microphone to the first computing device comprises disabling the first microphone.

Clause 29. a method, comprising: intercepting, by an intercepting device, a communication between a first microphone and a listening device, wherein the intercepting device is configured to intercept the communication by preventing one or more signals from the first microphone from being received by the listening device; detecting, using the first microphone and through the blocking device, one or more sounds associated with an audio trigger; and allowing the listening device to receive one or more second signals based on detecting one or more sounds associated with the audio trigger.

Clause 30. the method of clause 29, wherein the arresting device and the first microphone are part of a module mounted in the listening device.

Clause 31. the method of any one of clauses 29 to 30, wherein a user is instructed via instructions accompanying the arresting device to install the module in the listening device.

Clause 32. the method of any one of clauses 29-31, wherein the listening device is allowed to receive the one or more second signals for a temporary period of time.

Clause 33. the method of any of clauses 29-32, wherein the intercepting device is configured to intercept the communication by interrupting one or more wires of the listening device.

Clause 34. the method of any of clauses 29-33, wherein the first microphone replaces a second microphone associated with the listening device.

Clause 35. the method of any one of clauses 29 to 34, further comprising: preventing communication between the second microphone and the listening device.

Clause 36. the method of any of clauses 29-35, wherein the audio trigger corresponds to a command of the listening device.

Clause 37. the method of any of clauses 29-36, wherein the command is one or more spoken words.

Clause 38. the method of any one of clauses 29 to 37, wherein the arresting means comprises circuitry configured to detect the one or more sounds.

Clause 39. the method of any one of clauses 29 to 38, wherein the arresting device is configured to remove a portion of the one or more signals from the first microphone prior to transmitting the one or more signals to the listening device.

Clause 40. the method of any one of clauses 29 to 30, wherein the arresting device is installed via an interface of the listening device.

Clause 41. a smart device, comprising: at least one microphone; one or more processors; and blocking circuitry configured to: prevent, while the blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, reception by the one or more processors of a first signal generated by the at least one microphone, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry; detecting, using an input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

Clause 42. the smart device of clause 41, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 43. the smart device of any of clauses 41-42, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 44. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-43, wherein the barring circuitry further comprises the at least one second microphone.

Clause 45. the smart device of any of clauses 41-44, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry by: processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm; and determining, based on the processing, that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 46. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-45, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry.

Clause 47. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-46, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

Clause 48. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-47, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of a circuit associated with the at least one microphone.

Clause 49. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-48, further comprising: returning to the untriggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

Clause 50. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-49, wherein the barring circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by: determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

Clause 51. the smart device of any of clauses 41-50, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

Clause 52. the smart device of any of clauses 41-51, wherein the first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on the second volume of the one or more second sounds.

Clause 53. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-52, further comprising: determining the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds for a certain period of time while the blocking circuitry is in the un-triggered state.

Clause 54. the smart device of any of clauses 41-53, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by: processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

Clause 55. the smart device of any one of clauses 41-54, wherein the barring circuitry and the one or more processors are located within the same housing.

Clause 56. the smart device of any one of clauses 51-55, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is grounded when the blocking circuitry is in the un-triggered state.

Clause 57. the smart device of any of clauses 51-56, wherein the barring circuitry is further configured to indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected.

Clause 58. the smart device of any of clauses 51-57, wherein the blocking circuitry is further configured to indicate when the blocking circuitry is in the trigger state.

Clause 59. the smart device of any of clauses 51-58, wherein the blocking circuitry is not capable of communicating over a network used by the smart device.

Clause 60. the smart device of any one of clauses 51-59, wherein the first trigger is configurable by a user.

Clause 61. a method, comprising: while blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, blocking, by the blocking circuitry, reception by one or more processors of a smart device of a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry; detecting, by the blocking circuitry and using an input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a triggered state by the barring device and allowing reception by the one or more processors of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

Clause 62. the method of clause 61, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 63. the method of any of clauses 61-62, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 64. the method of any one of clauses 61-63, wherein the smart device further comprises the at least one second microphone.

Clause 65. the method of any one of clauses 61-64, wherein detecting the first trigger comprises: processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm; and determining, based on the processing, that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 66. a blocking circuitry comprising an input device, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to: while the blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, blocking reception by one or more processors of a smart device of a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry; detecting, using the input device of the blocking circuitry, a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

Clause 67. the barring circuitry of clause 66, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 68 the blocking circuitry of any of clauses 66-67, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 69 the blocking circuitry of any one of clauses 66-68, wherein the smart device further comprises the at least one second microphone.

Clause 70. the blocking circuitry of any of clauses 66-69, wherein the blocking circuitry is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry by: processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm; and determining, based on the processing, that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 71. a system, comprising: a smart device, the smart device comprising: at least one microphone; one or more processors; and a blocking module interface; and a removable arresting device adapted to be connected to the smart device via the arresting module interface; wherein the removable barricade is configured to, when connected to the barricade module interface: preventing, by the one or more processors, reception of a first signal generated by the at least one microphone when the removable blocker is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocker module interface; detecting, using an input device of the removable barrier device, a first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors and via the barring module interface of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

Clause 72. the system of clause 71, wherein the one or more processors receive a third signal from the at least one microphone and via the barring module interface when the removable barring device is disconnected from the barring module interface.

Clause 73. the system of any one of clauses 71-72, wherein connection of the removable blocking device to the blocking module interface prevents the one or more processors from receiving the third signal.

Clause 74 the system of any one of clauses 71-73, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 75. the system of any of clauses 71-74, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 76. the system of any of clauses 71-75, wherein the removable arresting means comprises the at least one second microphone.

Clause 77. the system of any of clauses 71-76, wherein the removable barrier is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier by: based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 78. the system of any one of clauses 71-77, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the removable arresting device.

Clause 79. the system of any of clauses 71-78, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

Clause 80. the system of any of clauses 71-79, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of a circuit associated with the at least one microphone.

Clause 81. the system of any one of clauses 71-80, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is further configured to: returning to the untriggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

Clause 82. the system of any one of clauses 71-81, wherein the removable blocking device is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by: determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

Clause 83. the system of any of clauses 71-82, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

Clause 84. the system of any of clauses 71-83, wherein the first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on the second volume of the one or more second sounds.

Clause 85. the system of any one of clauses 71-84, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by: processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

Clause 86. the system of any of clauses 71-85, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is grounded when the removable blocker is in the un-triggered state.

Clause 87. the system of any of clauses 71-86, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is further configured to indicate when electrical activity associated with the at least one microphone is detected.

Clause 88. the system of any one of clauses 71-87, wherein the removable blocking device is further configured to indicate when the removable blocking device is in the triggered state.

Clause 89. the system of any of clauses 71-88, wherein the removable arresting device is not capable of communicating over a network used by the smart device.

Clause 90. the system of any of clauses 71-89, wherein the first trigger is configurable by a user.

Clause 91. a method, comprising: preventing, by a removable barrage physically connected to a barrage module interface of a smart device, reception, by one or more processors of the smart device, of a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device when the removable barrage device is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the barrage module interface; detecting, using an input device of the removable barrier device, a first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and temporarily entering, by the removable blocker, a trigger state based on detecting the first trigger and allowing reception, by the one or more processors and via the blocker module interface, of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

Clause 92. the method of clause 91, further comprising: connecting the removable blocking device to the smart device via the blocking module interface, wherein connecting the removable blocking device prevents a third signal from the at least one microphone from being received by the one or more processors.

Clause 93. the method of any of clauses 91-92, further comprising: disconnecting the removable arresting device from the smart device via the arresting module interface, wherein disconnecting the removable arresting device allows for receiving, by the one or more processors, a third signal from the at least one microphone.

Clause 94. the method of any of clauses 91-93, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 95. the method of any of clauses 91-94, wherein the removable blocking device is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the removable blocking device by: based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 96. a removable arresting apparatus, wherein the removable arresting apparatus is configured to, when connected to an arresting module interface of a smart device: prevent, by one or more processors of the smart device, receiving a first signal generated by at least one microphone of the smart device while the removable blocking device is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking module interface; detecting, using an input device of the removable barrier device, a first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and allowing reception by the one or more processors and via the barring module interface of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone.

Clause 97 the removable arresting apparatus of clause 96, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 98. the removable arresting device of any of clauses 96-97, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 99. the removable arresting device of any one of clauses 96-98, wherein the removable arresting device comprises the at least one second microphone.

Clause 100. the removable barrier of any one of clauses 96-99, wherein the removable barrier is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the removable barrier by: based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 101. a system, comprising: a smart device comprising at least one first microphone; and a blocking device comprising at least one second microphone and an output device, wherein the blocking device is configured to: determining, using the at least one second microphone, one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device; outputting, using the output device, first audio to the at least one first microphone, wherein the first audio is generated based on a volume of the one or more sounds and is configured to obstruct receipt of ambient audio by the at least one first microphone when the obstruction device is in an un-triggered state; detecting a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one second microphone, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and outputting the second trigger to the at least one first microphone using the output device.

Clause 102. the system of clause 101, wherein a first volume of the first audio is configured to be greater than the volume of the one or more sounds.

Clause 103. the system of any of clauses 101-102, further comprising: selecting the one or more sounds based on the volume of the one or more sounds satisfying a threshold.

Clause 104. the system of any of clauses 101-103, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 105. the system of any of clauses 101-104, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Item 106 the system of any of items 101-105, wherein the one or more first words associated with the first trigger are different from the one or more second words associated with the second trigger.

Clause 107. the system of any of clauses 101-106, wherein the barring device is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the barring device by: based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 108. the system of any of clauses 101-107, wherein the first trigger corresponds to movement detected by an optical sensor of the arresting device.

Clause 109. the system of any of clauses 101-108, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

Clause 110 the system of any of clauses 101-109, wherein impeding the reception of the ambient audio comprises shielding at least a portion of the at least one first microphone.

Clause 111. the system of any of clauses 101-110, wherein the arresting means is further configured to: returning to the untriggered state based on a determination that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

Clause 112. the system of any of clauses 101-111, wherein the barring device is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and output the second trigger by: determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

Clause 113. the system of any of clauses 101-112, wherein the first audio is configured to simulate speech uttered by one or more users of the smart device.

Clause 114. the system of any of clauses 101-113, wherein the arresting means is further configured to determine the one or more sounds by: recording the one or more sounds for a certain period of time while the arresting means is in the non-triggered state.

Clause 115 the system of any of clauses 101-114, wherein the second trigger is configured to hide the identity of at least one user.

Clause 116. the system of any of clauses 101-115, wherein the arresting device is configured to be attached to at least a portion of a housing of the smart device.

Clause 117. the system of any of clauses 101-116, wherein the blocking device is configured to block the at least one first microphone from receiving any audio other than audio originating from the output device.

Clause 118. the system of any of clauses 101-117, wherein the arresting means is further configured to indicate when the arresting means is in the triggered state.

Clause 119. the system of any of clauses 101-118, wherein the barring device is unable to communicate over a network used by the smart device.

Clause 120. the system of any of clauses 101-119, wherein the first trigger is configurable by a user.

Clause 121. a method, comprising: determining, using at least one first microphone of the arresting device, one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device; outputting, using an output device of the barring device, first audio to at least one second microphone of the smart device, wherein the first audio is based on the one or more sounds and is configured to bar reception of ambient audio by the at least one second microphone when the barring device is in an un-triggered state; detecting a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one first microphone, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and outputting the second trigger to the at least one second microphone using the output device.

Clause 122. the method of clause 121, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one first microphone.

Clause 123. the method of any of clauses 121-122, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 124. the method of any of clauses 121-123, wherein the one or more first words associated with the first trigger are different from the one or more second words associated with the second trigger.

Clause 125. the method of any of clauses 121-124, wherein the barring device is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the barring device by: based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 126. a barring apparatus comprising at least one first microphone and an output apparatus, wherein the barring apparatus is configured to: determining, using the at least one first microphone, one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device; outputting, using the output device, first audio to at least one second microphone of the smart device, wherein the first audio is based on the one or more sounds and is configured to obstruct reception of ambient audio by the at least one second microphone when the obstruction device is in an un-triggered state; detecting a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one first microphone, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; and based on detecting the first trigger, temporarily entering a trigger state and outputting the second trigger to the at least one second microphone using the output device.

Clause 127. the barrier device of clause 126, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one first microphone.

Clause 128. the arresting device of any of clauses 126-127, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the smart device.

Clause 129 the bar device of any one of clauses 126-128, wherein the one or more first words associated with the first trigger are different from the one or more second words associated with the second trigger.

Clause 130. the arresting means according to any one of clauses 126 to 129, wherein the arresting means is configured to detect the first trigger associated with activating the arresting means by: based on processing the audio trigger using a speech recognition algorithm, determining that one or more words in the audio trigger are associated with the trigger state.

Clause 131. a method, comprising: detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one microphone of a smart device and one or more processors of the smart device; determining, based on the first electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry blocks reception of the first signal generated by the at least one microphone by the one or more processors while the blocking circuitry is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking circuitry; detecting a second electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; based on the second electrical signal, determining that the blocking circuitry detects a first trigger associated with activating the blocking circuitry using an input device of the blocking circuitry, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; detecting a third electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; and based on the third electrical signal, determine that the blocking circuitry temporarily enters a triggered state and allows reception, by the one or more processors, of a second signal generated by the at least one microphone based on detecting the first trigger.

Clause 132. the method of clause 131, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring one or more circuits of the smart device.

Clause 133. the method of any of clauses 131-132, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring power usage of the smart device.

The method of claim 1, clause 134, further comprising: assigning a privacy level to the blocking circuitry based on the first electrical signal, the second electrical signal, and the third electrical signal.

Clause 135. the method of any of clauses 131-134, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 136. the method of any of clauses 131-135, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by an optical sensor of the blocking circuitry.

Clause 137 the method of any of clauses 131-136, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

Clause 138. the method of any of clauses 131-137, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of a circuit associated with the at least one microphone.

Clause 139. the method of any of clauses 131-138, further comprising determining, based on a fourth electrical signal, that the barring circuitry is returned to the untriggered state based on determining that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

Clause 140. the method of any of clauses 131-139, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the barring circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the trigger state and allow receipt of the second signal by: determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

Clause 141. the method of any of clauses 131-140, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

Clause 142. the method of any of clauses 131-141, wherein the first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on the second volume of the one or more second sounds.

Clause 143. the method of any of clauses 131-142, further comprising determining, based on the first electrical signal, that the barring circuitry determines the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds for a certain period of time while the barring circuitry is in the un-triggered state.

Clause 144 the method of any of clauses 131-143, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the blocking circuitry is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by: processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

Clause 145. a method, comprising: detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one microphone of a smart device and one or more processors of the smart device; determining, based on the first electrical signal, that a removable blocking device connected to the smart device via a blocking module interface prevents reception, by the one or more processors of the smart device, of a first signal generated by the at least one microphone of the smart device when the removable blocking device is in an un-triggered state, wherein each communication path between the at least one microphone and the one or more processors is implemented via the blocking module interface; detecting a second electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; based on the second electrical signal, determining that the removable arresting device detects a first trigger associated with activating the removable arresting device using an input device of the removable arresting device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; detecting a third electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; and based on the third electrical signal, determine that the removable blocker temporarily enters a triggered state and allows a second signal generated by the at least one microphone to be received by the one or more processors and via the blocker module interface based on detecting the first trigger.

Clause 146. the method of clause 145, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring one or more circuits of the smart device.

Clause 147. the method of any of clauses 145-146, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring power usage of the smart device.

Clause 148. the method of any of clauses 145-147, further comprising: assigning a privacy level to the removable arresting apparatus based on the first electrical signal, the second electrical signal, and the third electrical signal.

Clause 149. the method of any of clauses 145-148, wherein the first trigger comprises an audio trigger received from at least one second microphone.

Clause 150. the method of any one of clauses 145-149, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by an optical sensor of the removable arresting device.

Clause 151. the method of any of clauses 145-150, wherein the first trigger corresponds to a movement detected by a wearable device.

Clause 152 the method of any of clauses 145-151, wherein preventing reception of the first signal comprises grounding at least a portion of a circuit associated with the at least one microphone.

Clause 153 the method of any of clauses 145-152, further comprising determining, based on a fourth electrical signal, that the removable arresting device is returned to the un-triggered state based on determining that a time period associated with the triggered state has elapsed.

Clause 154. the method of any of clauses 145-153, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by: determining that the smart device is not outputting the first trigger based on processing the first trigger to determine a source of the first trigger.

Clause 155. the method of any of clauses 145-154, wherein preventing reception of signals from the at least one microphone comprises outputting, to the one or more processors, a third signal comprising one or more first sounds configured to simulate one or more second sounds from an environment associated with the smart device.

Clause 156 the method of any of clauses 145-155, wherein the first volume of the one or more first sounds is based on the second volume of the one or more second sounds.

Clause 157. the method of any of clauses 145-156, further comprising determining, based on the first electrical signal, that the removable arresting apparatus is configured to determine the one or more first sounds by recording the one or more second sounds within a certain time period while the removable arresting apparatus is in the un-triggered state.

Clause 158. the method of any of clauses 145-157, further comprising determining, based on the third electrical signal, that the removable arresting apparatus is configured to temporarily enter the triggered state and allow receipt of the second signal by: processing the second signal to conceal at least one user's identity; and outputting the processed second signal to the one or more processors.

Clause 159. a method, comprising: detecting a first electrical signal associated with a communication path between at least one first microphone of a smart device and one or more processors of the smart device; determining, based on the first electrical signal, that a blocking device determines one or more sounds corresponding to an environment associated with the smart device using at least one second microphone of the blocking device; detecting a second electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; based on the second electrical signal, determining that the barring device is configured to output first audio to the at least one first microphone of the smart device using an output device of the barring device, wherein the first audio is based on the one or more sounds and is configured to bar reception of ambient audio by the at least one first microphone when the barring device is in an un-triggered state; detecting a third electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; based on the third electrical signal, determining that the arresting device is configured to detect a first trigger associated with activating the arresting device using the at least one second microphone of the arresting device, wherein the first trigger is different from a second trigger associated with activating the smart device; detecting a fourth electrical signal associated with the communication path between the at least one microphone of the smart device and the one or more processors of the smart device; and based on the fourth electrical signal, determining that the barring device is configured to temporarily enter a triggered state based on detecting the first trigger and outputting the second trigger to the at least one first microphone using the output device.

Clause 160. the method of clause 159, wherein detecting the first electrical signal comprises monitoring power usage of the smart device.

Clause 161. a method, comprising: detecting, by a blocker, at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device; determining that the mobile device is in a barring mode based on at least one of the position and the orientation of the mobile device; based on determining that the mobile device is in a blocking mode, intercepting one or more signals received via one or more inputs of the mobile device; detecting a trigger associated with a trigger state; and entering the trigger state based on detecting the trigger, the trigger state allowing one or more processors of the mobile device to receive one or more signals from the one or more inputs of the mobile device.

Clause 162. the method of clause 161, wherein detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of the mobile device further comprises: determining that the mobile device has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time.

Clause 163. the method of any of clauses 161-162, wherein detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device further comprises: it is determined which direction the mobile device is facing.

Clause 164. the method of any of clauses 161-163, wherein detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of a mobile device further comprises: determining a first orientation of the mobile device; determining a second orientation of the mobile device; determining whether the second orientation of the mobile device satisfies a first threshold; and determining that the mobile device is in a barring mode based on the determination that the second orientation does not satisfy the first threshold.

Clause 165. the method of any one of clauses 161-164, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises: interrupting a transmission medium of the mobile device.

Clause 166. the method of any one of clauses 161-165, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises: interrupting one or more wires of the mobile device.

Clause 167. the method of any of clauses 161-166, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises: grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with one or more inputs of the mobile device.

Clause 168. the method of any of clauses 161-167, wherein the trigger comprises a gesture input.

Clause 169. the method of any of clauses 161-168, wherein the gesture input comprises a shaking movement.

Clause 170. the method of any of clauses 161-169, wherein detecting the trigger further comprises: receiving an audio trigger via the one or more inputs of the mobile device.

Clause 171. the method of any of clauses 161-170, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the mobile device.

The method of claim 10, wherein the audio trigger overrides one or more gesture inputs.

Clause 173. a computing device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to: detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of the computing device; determining that the computing device is in a blocking mode based on at least one of the position and the orientation of the computing device; based on determining that the computing device is in a blocking mode, intercept one or more signals received via one or more inputs of the computing device; detecting a trigger associated with a trigger state; and enter the trigger state based on detecting the trigger, the trigger state allowing the one or more processors to receive one or more signals from the one or more inputs.

Clause 174. the computing device of clause 173, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to: determining that the computing device has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time.

Clause 175. the computing device of any of clauses 173-174, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to: determining which direction the computing device is facing.

Clause 176. the computing device of any of clauses 173-175, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to: determining a first orientation of the computing device; determining a second orientation of the computing device; determining whether the second orientation of the computing device satisfies a first threshold; and determining that the computing device is in a blocking mode based on determining that the second orientation does not satisfy the first threshold.

Clause 177. the computing device of any of clauses 173-176, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to: interrupting a transmission medium of the computing device.

Clause 178 the computing device of any of clauses 173-177, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to: interrupting one or more wires of the computing device.

Clause 179 the computing device of any of clauses 173-178, wherein intercepting the one or more signals comprises grounding at least a portion of circuitry associated with the one or more inputs.

Clause 180. the computing device of any of clauses 173-179, wherein the trigger comprises a gesture input.

Clause 181. the computing device of any of clauses 173-180, wherein the gestural input comprises a shaking movement.

Clause 182. the computing device of any of clauses 173-181, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to: an audio trigger is received via the one or more inputs.

Clause 183. the computing device of any of clauses 173-182, wherein the audio trigger comprises a command spoken by a user within a predetermined distance of the computing device.

Clause 184. the computing device of any of clauses 173-183, wherein the audio trigger overrides one or more gesture inputs.

Clause 185. a barrier device, comprising: intercept circuitry configured to prevent one or more signals from being transmitted from one or more inputs to a processor of a mobile device; an accelerometer configured to detect a gesture input; and output circuitry configured to allow the processor of the mobile device to receive one or more second signals based on the gesture input.

Clause 186. the arrester according to clause 185, further comprising: listening circuitry configured to determine an audio trigger using the microphone, wherein the audio trigger causes the output circuitry to allow the processor of the mobile device to receive the one or more second signals.

Clause 187 the blocker device of any of clauses 185-186, wherein the blocker device draws power from the mobile device.

Clause 188. the arresting means according to any one of clauses 185 to 187, wherein the arresting means does not comprise a processor.

Clause 189. a system, comprising: a mobile device, the mobile device comprising: one or more inputs, wherein the one or more inputs include at least one microphone and at least one image capture device; one or more processors; and a arresting device adapted to be connected to the mobile device, wherein the arresting device is configured to, when connected to the mobile device: detecting at least one of a position and an orientation of the mobile device; determining that the mobile device is in a barring mode based on at least one of the position and the orientation of the mobile device; based on determining that the mobile device is in a blocking mode, intercepting one or more signals received via one or more inputs of the mobile device; detecting a trigger associated with a trigger state; and enter the trigger state based on detecting the trigger, the trigger state allowing the one or more processors of the mobile device to receive one or more signals from the one or more inputs of the mobile device.

Clause 190. the system of clause 189, wherein the trigger comprises a repetitive motion of the mobile device. Although examples are described above, the features and/or steps of those examples may be combined, divided, omitted, rearranged, modified, and/or augmented in any desired manner. Various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements, although not expressly stated herein, are intended to be part of this description and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, and not limiting.