Privacy Settings for Smart Home Assistant Users
Smart home assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and its Echo and Dot smart speakers have become extremely popular in recent years. As smart home technology continues to improve and better integrate into the home, more and more families are finding them indispensable, but some consumers are less-than-enthusiastic about these devices invading their privacy. When a smart home assistant is activated by your voice, information is collected in these company’s respective servers. Fortunately, there are privacy settings you can adjust to avoid this.
Disable Voice Recording History for Alexa
Under “Settings,” go to “Alexa Privacy” and then “Manage Your Alexa Data.” Once there, select “Choose How Long to Save Voice Recordings” and then choose “Don’t Save Recordings.” This will prevent your voice commands from remaining on Amazon’s servers. You can also easily delete your history for any given day by saying “Alexa, delete what I said today.”
Opt-out of Amazon’s “Help Improve Alexa” Feature
To improve its voice control technology, Amazon employs experts to listen to a tiny number of voice recordings made by consumers through Alexa. That means a real-life person, not a robot! If this sounds too creepy for you (and trust us, we get it), you can opt-out of this feature.
In Alexa’s “Settings,” scroll to “Alexa Privacy” and then “Manage Your Alexa Data.” Look for the option to “Help Improve Alexa” and click that once and wait for a confirmation that lets you toggle it off.
Disable “Sidewalk”
Another feature of Amazon’s Alexa smart home assistant technology is its mesh network called “Sidewalk,” which lets a sliver of your home’s internet share (and essentially, combine) with your neighbors’ internet to provide Wi-Fi coverage of your home’s immediate surroundings (i.e., out to your sidewalk). Many consumers do not like this feature and want it turned off.
To do so, open your Alexa app and head to “Settings,” and then “Account Settings.” Once there, you’ll notice that “Amazon Sidewalk is already toggled to “Enabled”—simply toggle it to “Disabled” and you’re all set. By implementing the above privacy settings, you can vastly improve the privacy of your smart home devices while still enjoying their convenience.
