If you dont like the idea that your Echo machine is recording every question you ask itall in the interest of, well,whatever Amazons reasoning isyou can now wipe its memory each day with a handy voice command.
Say this to your machine, Alexa, delete everything I said today, and your Echo speaker or other Alexa machine will do just that: delete all voice data and stored commands on your account that have accrued that day.
You will, of course, have to first set this feature up in your Alexa apps prefs, and the setting is pretty buried.
Open up the app, open up the configs section, and then tap on Alexa Account > Alexa Privacy > Review Voice History.
There, Toggle on the ability to Enable deletion by voice, and train your roommates to be as diligent about saying the phrase as you are each day, just in case you forget.
Youll also soon be able to tell Alexa to delete what I just said, a feature that should go live at some point over the next few weeks in the U.S.
For those who want as little Alexa data being stored as possible, we recommend using these voice commands often, especially after periods of heavy use.
If you happen to forget, or the time between deletions feels too long, it’s possible for you to also manually delete data from the Alexa app parameters,which we have a guide for as well.
For those on iOS, we also recommend usingJumbo, a privacy app that lets you delete all the data associated with whatever accounts youve synced with the service.
The app currently works with Amazon Alexa, Google, and Facebook, with support for other platforms like Instagram and Tinder also planned.
While were happy this functionality now exists, we cant help but assume its Amazons response to the bad press the company has recently received.
There have been numerous reports on howAlexa tracks and shares voice data, as well as other privacy concerns around Amazons smart home devicessuch as the revelation that certain Alexa parameters meantAmazon workers could be listening in on your Echo conversationsat any time, and that Amazons Ring security camera footage was beingstored, watched, and categorized by Ring employees.
Luckily, you could turn off many of these features, or at the very least take action to reduce the possibility thatoutsiders may have access to your devices or data.
