You can easily keep your Alexa conversations private
Just say “Alexa, forget what I just said”
Once in a while, Alexa glows blue when I didn’t call for her, and she hears a snippet of conversation that had nothing to do with her.
Fortunately, all you have to say is “Alexa, forget what I just said” to have Alexa erase the recording of any interaction you don’t want her to remember (like when my husband called out our bank account password).
Do This Now: Enable deletion by voice so you can use this feature
Just follow these simple steps:
- Open the Alexa App, and tap the hamburger icon (3 horizontal lines) in the upper left corner
- Tap “Settings”
- Tap “Alexa Privacy”
- Tap “Review Voice History”
- Toggle on “Enable Deletion By Voice”
- When the need arises, say “Alexa, forget what I just said”
You can also set your Alexa recordings to auto-delete
If you don’t want Alexa holding on to recordings, you can easily have them erased on an ongoing basis:
- Open the Alexa App, and tap the hamburger icon (3 horizontal lines) in the upper left corner
- Tap “Settings”
- Tap “Alexa Privacy”
- Tap “Manage Your Alexa Data”
- Tap “Automatically delete recordings,” make your selection and tap the “Confirm” button
Note: You’ll see a notice that deleting recordings may impair Alexa’s ability to understand you. I have mine set to erase all recordings over 18 months old, and I haven’t seen a change in her ability to understand me.
Pro Tips
Pro Tip #1: Wondering why Alexa records your requests at all?
To process what you’ve asked when you say “Alexa, what’s the weather?”, Alexa sends a recording to the Amazon cloud. That’s where your request is interpreted, and a response is figured out!
Pro Tip #2: You can delete the whole day’s Alexa recordings
Just say “Alexa, forget everything I said today.”