Guess who’s spying from your bookshelf
With more than 500 million Alexa-enabled devices sold worldwide, odds are you’ve got one sitting on your counter or desk, quietly glowing, always listening. Ever mutter something like, “I need new jeans,” and suddenly your phone’s serving up Levi’s ads? Creepy coincidence or hot mic in action?
Alexa is always in listening mode, waiting for the wake word. Then, she starts recording, and that audio gets shipped off to the cloud. By the way, you might’ve said “a lecture,” “erector” or “I’d like a snack,” but Alexa still perks up like it’s her cue to record the next few seconds of your life for her memoir.
🧑⚖️ Alexa, mind your business
Those recordings get stored, reviewed and sometimes even shared. One couple in Portland, Oregon, had their private conversation recorded by Alexa … and it was automatically sent to one of their contacts. That person worked at their company. Awkward.
Another time, Amazon turned over Alexa recordings as evidence in a murder investigation. So yes, your smart speaker might actually testify against you.
🔊 On the record
Unless you’ve changed your settings, there’s a running log of everything you’ve ever asked. The good, the bad and the weird. Want to hear them for yourself?
In the Alexa app: Tap More (three lines at the bottom) > Alexa Privacy > Review Voice and Text History. You can play them back, delete them or pretend you never asked what you just asked.
🤫 Alexa’s problem friends
Some third-party skills and apps can access your mic, calendar and contacts without much oversight. Some have been caught secretly storing data or exploiting commands, all without your knowledge.
These add-ons don’t get vetted like App Store or Play Store apps. So you’re trusting Alexa to vet her friends, and she’s a terrible bouncer.
🛡️ Your privacy checklist
🔇 Mute your mic when you’re not using it: There’s a physical mute button on most Alexa devices. Press it, and the light ring will turn orange or red when Alexa’s ears are officially off.
🛍️ Turn off voice purchasing: So Alexa doesn’t accidentally order 300 dog treats after your kid yells, “Order snacks!”
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap More > Settings > Account Settings > Voice Purchasing > Purchase controls.
- Choose No one (disable voice purchasing), or set up a purchase confirmation code.
🗑️ Auto-delete voice history every 3 months: Do it.
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data.
- Under Choose how long to save history, select Save history for 3 months.
📋 Review permissions on third-party skills: Some Alexa “skills” love digging into your data.
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap More > Skills & Games > Your Skills.
- Go through each one and tap Settings > Manage Permissions.
- Disable any permissions you don’t like (like access to your mic, location or contacts).
😳 Speaking of… “Alexa, tell me a joke. … Alexa? Alexa?” She said, “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. I thought you deserved some privacy.” I said, “Really? Well, that’s nice of you.” She said, “Would you like to hear another joke?” (lol)
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Tags: Amazon, devices, family, privacy, settings
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