How to check if Alexa or Google Assistant is secretly recording you

Last week, we learned a little more about the very human flaws of Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant. One couple in Portland, OR, discovered that their Amazon Echoes were accidentally recording their private conversations and sending them to a friend from their contacts list. The situation worked itself out harmlessly enough, but as we pointed out, it really reinforced that we don't know as much as we think we do about the always-listening virtual assistants that we've invited into our homes. But ...