Amazon’s Alexa is a great smart assistant for many tasks. You can use it to look up recipes, control smart home devices, and even watch movies or shows if you own a Fire TV product.
There’s also the ability to have it read stories to kids through FreeTime, and Amazon even sells a kid-friendly Echo Dot so your children can interact with Alexa without you around. FreeTime is about to get an update which could help protect children from hearing responses you’d rather not have them listen to.
This update will bring new responses to some of the most asked questions like “Where do babies come from,” “Is Santa Clause real” or even “Who is Stormy Daniels?”
Associated Press went through and had a full conversation with this new FreeTime on Alexa and outlined several questions and answers from the smart assistant.
- Alexa, where do babies come from?
- Regular: “Babies are made through the process of reproduction.”
- Kid version: “People make people, but how they’re made would be a better question for a grown-up.”
- Alexa, what happens when you die?
- Regular: “Sorry, I’m not sure.”
- Kid version: “That’s a hard question to answer. If you’re wondering about this, you should ask someone in your family, a teacher, or a friend who you know and trust.”
- Alexa, is Santa Clause real?
- Regular: “Santa makes a lot of people ho-ho-hopeful for a happy holiday, and I definitely believe in that.”
- Kid version: “Just check if the cookies you set out for him are gone Christmas morning.”
- Alexa, what is marijuana?
- Regular: “Marijuana is usually defined as a strong-smelling plant whose dried leaves can be smoked for a pleasant effect or pain reduction or, alternatively, the most commonly used illicit drug; considered a soft drug, it consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect.”
- Kid version: “I am not able to answer that.”
- Alexa, who is Stormy Daniels?
- Regular: “Stormy Daniels is an adult film actress from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.”
- Kid version: “Sorry, I don’t know that.”
- Alexa, why do I have to go to school?
- Regular: “Hmmm, I don’t know that one.”
- Kid version: Same answer.
- Alexa, please tell me who the president is
- Regular: “The United States’ president is Donald Trump.”
- Kid version: “The United States’ president is Donald Trump. By the way, thanks for asking so nicely.”
As you can see, Alexa is really toned down here, providing the answers you’d expect for children to hear over what the smart assistant would say to adults.
You can enable FreeTime within the Alexa app on your smartphone, which comes with a myriad of other features.
This update could give more parents the confidence of installing Alexa in a kid’s room so they can listen to bedtime stories or more with just their voice.
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