Why An Apple Watch Sent Pokimane Into A Panic
Being an internet celebrity has a lot of upsides, including sponsorship deals and generous contracts to live stream on a particular site. But there are also some downsides. Fans and haters can sometimes become obsessed with a streamer and disrupt the content creator's life.
Pokimane, for example, has had a few run-ins with obsessed fans that have tried to contact her IRL. The Twitch megastar has reported getting creepy texts on multiple occasions, with one even trying to rope her into a scam. More startling, she told Anthony Padilla a stalker once showed up in her neighborhood looking for her. And she isn't the only one, as streamers such as Valkyrae have also experienced stalking IRL.
As a result, Pokimane has been private with the intimate details of her personal life, such as her address and phone number, to protect herself. But recently, her Apple Watch almost leaked sensitive information that could put her in danger, frightening the streamer.
Apple Watch almost leaked sensitive information
During a recent stream, Pokimane was setting up a Spotify playlist on her computer when something unexpected happened. Her Apple Watch used its electronic voice to ask her if she wanted to play a song in her Apple Music library or turn on the radio. Pokimane immediately became visibly alarmed and responded, "Shut the f*** up, please!" Afterward, once she had time to collect herself, Pokimane said, "That scared me so much. That was my Apple Watch." She then started tapping on her watch aggressively while exclaiming, "Like, who the f*** asked you?!"
Pokimane then went on to explain, "stuff like this frightens me so intensely because like you know how people sometimes try to trick your Alexa and stuff to say your address? Freaks me out." She's referring to people manipulating a device by talking to it over the internet as a prank. Sometimes these pranks are harmless, such as getting an Xbox to turn off in the middle of a "Call of Duty" match. While other times, these pranks can leak sensitive information by asking a device to read out addresses or phone numbers.
Thankfully, however, no personal information was shared when the Apple Watch spoke up, as it went silent after asking about the music. And for now, Pokimane is safe, but she may want to try silencing the Apple Watch during streams to keep a slip-up like this from happening again.