Worried that your Amazon Echo or Google Home smart speaker is spying on you, a new device called Paranoid (yes, that's the name) may offer some relief

All three models of Paranoid block the smart speaker from listening to you until you say Paranoid's own wake word, "Paranoid," and then the gizmo makes the smart speaker listen

The simplest Paranoid device, the Home button, sits on top of the Amazon Echo's mute button and stays pressed The intermediate Home Wave intercepts the microphones on the Echo and Google Home devices

The most complex setup, Home Max, requires shipping the smart speaker to Paranoid's headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta There, Paranoid technicians cut the speaker's microphone cable, attach it to an external Paranoid device, and send the speaker back

Despite the different levels of work, the price for all three devices is $49, temporarily reduced to $39 during the "pre-sale" period; Paranoid says its devices will soon support devices other than Amazon Echo and Google Home Paranoid says that its devices will soon be compatible with devices other than the Amazon Echo and Google Home

Paranoid has no Wi-Fi, antenna, Bluetooth, SIM card, or wireless capabilities, and the company boasts on its Paranoid website that the device is "hack-proof"

This is usually a famous last word, but the article on Paranoid's site invites hackers to come and try it (There seems to be a way to update Paranoid's firmware, so they may have taken advantage of that)

"Paranoid operates in blissful solitude, completely disconnected from the online world," the company says That cheeky attitude continues in the promotional video made to showcase the product

In the video, an angry alien (looking like Cryptosporidium from the "Destroy All Humans" video game) sits inside a smart speaker named "Orwell" and eavesdrops on family conversations to send targeted advertisements

Paranoid seems like a fairly cheap and simple solution to smart speaker privacy concerns Even cheaper and simpler would be to not have a smart speaker at all