Furbies were banned primarily due to fears by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and other government institutions that the toys contained recording devices that could capture and replay sensitive or classified conversations. This concern stemmed from misunderstandings about Furby's ability to "learn" language, leading to conspiracy theories that they could be used as spying tools. Although the toy maker Tiger Electronics clarified that Furbies did not actually have recording capabilities and that their vocabulary was preprogrammed, the ban persisted in some places like the NSA headquarters, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and even some schools due to privacy and security concerns. The intense suspicions even led to Furbies being banned from certain flights. These bans were mostly based on fears rather than proven spying functionalities, which were later debunked by the manufacturer.