Always listening? Hold to talk versus wake words.

How a wake word works

A speaker or phone that answers to a wake word keeps its microphone on and runs a small detector on the device, listening for one phrase. When it hears that phrase, or something that sounds like it, it starts recording and sends what follows to be understood, usually in the cloud. False starts happen: a word on the television can sound close enough.

How hold to talk works

With hold to talk, the microphone is off until you press. On Lychnos Ring it gets no power at all until you hold the button: a switch in the hardware, not a setting in an app. Let go, and it stops.

What each one costs

Why we chose the button

A ring is worn all day among other people: at work, at dinner, on the train. We wanted a microphone that is off unless you choose, a battery that does not spend itself listening, and an answer to “is it recording?” that anyone nearby can see: your finger on the button. The wider idea: calm technology.

What happens to your voice

While you hold, your words travel over the ring’s eSIM to our cloud in the EU, where they become text, and the voice clip is deleted right after. More on what leaves your hands and your home in privacy by design. What you can ask of any assistant’s maker: your data rights with an AI assistant.

If you have wondered whether your phone listens for more than its wake word, the evidence is in is my phone listening to me?