How to Delete Alexa Voice History From Echo Devices
Smart speakers and assistants have become ubiquitous. Google’s Nest speakers and Amazon’s Echo devices are available at affordable price points, resulting in a rapid increase in their usage. However, privacy is a significant concern for smart speaker users.
Smart speakers like Amazon Echo have always-on microphones that are constantly listening for the wake word. These devices also record and save your voice queries to enhance accuracy. However, some users might find this intrusive as the microphone can inadvertently capture sensitive conversations when in close proximity. To address this concern, it is advisable to delete the Alexa voice history from your Echo device. If you own an Amazon Echo speaker, here’s a simple guide on how to do it.
Why Should You Delete Your Alexa Voice History
Smart speakers learn from interactions to provide better answers to queries. They analyze usage patterns and store relevant data. When a query is asked, the details are stored on online servers under your account. Amazon uses this data to improve speech recognition and search accuracy.
An Amazon Echo speaker with Alexa, or any smart speaker, has an always-on mic. Recording and storing private conversations on these devices can be a concern as it may result in targeted advertising and a breach of privacy. Therefore, it’s recommended to periodically delete your Alexa voice history.
To delete Alexa voice history, you can use the Alexa app on your smartphone. Here’s how:
1. Open the Alexa app and go to the ‘More’ tab.
Step 2: Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
Step 3: Select ‘Alexa Privacy’.
Step 4: Tap the ‘Review Voice History’ option.
Step 5: Filter your voice history by date. Select ‘All History.’
Step 6: Your entire Alexa voice history will appear. This will give you an idea about all the stored data.
Step 7: Select ‘Delete all of my recordings.’
Step 8: Tap ‘Delete’ when prompted to delete your Alexa voice history.
How to Delete Alexa Voice History From Your Echo Speaker
To delete your Alexa voice history using your speaker, follow these steps. Note that you need to enable this feature in the Alexa app before using it for the first time. Once enabled, you can give the command directly.
Step 1: Open the Alexa app on your smartphone and go to the ‘More’ tab.
Step 2: Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
Step 3: Select ‘Alexa Privacy.’
Step 4: Scroll down and locate the ‘Manage Your Alexa Data’ option. Tap it.
Step 5: Toggle the switch next to ‘Enable deletion by voice.’ Then tap ‘Confirm’ when prompted.
Step 6: Give voice commands to Alexa to delete your voice history by saying: “Alexa, delete my entire voice history.”
If you don’t want to delete your voice history manually, you can set up auto-delete on Alexa. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Open the Alexa app on your smartphone and go to the ‘More’ tab.
Step 2: Go to the ‘Settings’ page.
Step 3: Select ‘Alexa Privacy’.
Step 4: Scroll down and find the ‘Manage Your Alexa Data’ option. Tap on it.
Step 5: Select ‘Choose how long to save recordings’ at the bottom of the screen.
Step 6: Choose the duration for storing your recordings. Select the ‘Do not save recordings’ option if you don’t want Alexa to store any of them in the future. Then, tap ‘Confirm’ and ‘Confirm’ again when prompted.
Enabling auto-deletion of your Alexa voice history ensures that recordings are automatically deleted according to your chosen frequency. If you decide not to save any recordings, it may impact the accuracy of Alexa’s responses to your queries.
Deleting your Alexa voice history will add to your peace of mind. If you are concerned about privacy and Amazon storing your conversations online, deleting your Alexa voice history from your account would be wise.
As Fred Humiston, the author behind Twothirds.us, I focus on providing practical and easy-to-follow guides and solutions for a variety of technical issues that people commonly face.
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