Parents worry about privacy with Siri, Alexa but don't do much about it

NEW YORK (FOXNEWS.COM) - Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and other virtual assistants have quickly become a matter of course when we have a question. But users still have widespread concern over privacy matters, especially involving their children.

These digital assistants are available almost anywhere through smart speakers and other devices: the phone, the computer, the dashboard of the car, the nightstand. So we can get the weather, control the lights, change the channel, and even heat up the leftovers. Life couldn't get much better for the sedentary.

But what about kids? Almost 60 percent of children under the age of 8 interact with a voice-activated device, according to a survey of parents by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that focuses on children and their use of media and technology.

Kids overwhelmingly use digital assistants for music. They also use the devices for information and the vague category "just to talk or fool around."

Privacy matters are what keeps parents up at night. The survey showed that 35 percent of adults think that hackers are moderately likely to break into a digital assistant and eavesdrop from afar. About 13 percent believe it is "very likely" and 10 percent say "extremely likely."

But few adults are doing anything or simply don't know how to do anything about it. Fewer than a third of adults have enabled parental controls on devices. But 40 percent have turned off the microphone to stop them from listening. The top three reasons for doing that are accidental activation, trust issues, and saving energy.