How to Protect Your Privacy on Smart Home Devices
Smart speakers are cool, convenient, and fun to use, but when it comes to privacy, they leave a lot to be desired. If you have an Amazon Echo , Google Home, or HomePod , there are tons of settings and features to tweak if you’re worried about protecting your privacy.
Here’s what you need to know about smart speakers and privacy, whether you’ve opened a box or shouted out voice commands for weeks.
Amazon Echo
Amazon’s smart speaker offers a lot more features than the competition, but that means you need to consider even more if you’re concerned about privacy. From voice recordings to automated purchases, there are many ways your Echo can leave you unprotected.
Block incoming voice and video calls
Echo makes it easy for the speaker to receive calls and video chats (Amazon calls them Drop Ins). The only downside is that someone can make unannounced calls, listen to any other conversations taking place in the room, and even spy on you if your Echo has a camera (like Show or Spot).
To block all incoming voice calls. Open the Alexa app, go to Settings and turn on Do Not Disturb mode. You can also use the “Alexa, do not disturb me” voice command and turn it back on with “Alexa, turn it off, do not disturb”.
If you’d like to turn off the Drop In feature, Amazon offers several different options. First, open Settings in the Alexa app, select your device and scroll down to Drop In. From there, you can select “Off” to turn off the function completely, or select “Only my household” if you have multiple echoes in your house and want to use them as a video intercom system.
Alternatively, you can block specific callers using the Alexa app. Just open the Conversations tab, select Contacts and click Block Contacts. From there, you can block anyone you want from your Echo.
Delete voice command data
Amazon records every command you give and uses that data to make Alexa even smarter, but you can easily delete them all if you want. All you have to do is go to this website , log into your Amazon account and go to the Devices section. From there, you can delete individual voice commands, or clear them all at once, by clicking the three dots icon, choosing Manage Voice Recordings, then Delete, and then hitting Delete again to confirm.
Disable voice purchases
If you don’t live alone and you never have guests, it’s easy to turn off voice purchases. Otherwise, anyone could walk into your home and order a bunch of things on Amazon from their account.
Fortunately, turning this feature off is pretty straightforward. Just open the Alexa app, go to Settings, then Voice Purchases and turn it off. Alternatively, you can add a “voice code” from the same screen in the app, so anyone trying to make a purchase using your Echo will need a four-digit code to do so.
Turn off your microphone and camera
Amazon makes it pretty easy to turn off your Echo camera. Just hit the big microphone button if you don’t want to be eavesdropped on by the company – it’s also helpful if one of your guests is constantly telling Alexa to change the music.
If you have an echo show or another model with a built-in camera, you can also turn off the lens at the touch of a button. If you are paranoid, you can also try covering it up with a piece of tape to make sure no one is spying on you.
Google home
Google’s line of smart speakers is slightly less of a privacy minefield than Amazon, but there is still a lot to be done if you’re worried about protecting your privacy. Here’s a quick guide for privacy-obsessed Google Home owners.
Block incoming calls
The phone calling capabilities of Google Home are much less reliable than those of Amazon. The only way to receive calls to the company’s AI speakers is to bind your personal number to the device. So if you are concerned about privacy, just do not activate this feature.
If you’ve already connected your number to Google Home, it’s not too difficult to disconnect it. Just open the Google Home app when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. Then click on the devices icon in the upper right corner and select your home speaker. On the next screen, tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner, select Settings and then Linked Accounts. Finally, select Unlink to remove the connection.
When it comes to video calling, Google doesn’t make home speakers with a built-in camera – at least not yet. So there is nothing to worry about now.
Delete voice command data
Like Amazon, Google records all the voice commands you use. To delete these entries, open the Google Assistant app and go to Settings, then Home Control and select your speaker. Then click on the three dots in the upper right corner, click on “My Activity” and from there you can choose which commands you want to delete. To delete everything, click the three dots in the upper right corner, select Delete Action Before, and then clear everything at once.
Disable voice purchases
You can use your Google Home to order products through Google Express, but this feature needs to be configured to work. So if you’re worried about privacy, just leave that.
If it’s already on, open the Google Home app, go to Settings, then Advanced Settings, and then turn off Personal Results to disable this feature. You can also cancel certain orders from this link if they are not yet ready for shipment.
Turn off the microphone
Like the Echo, your Google Home speaker has a physical button to mute the microphone. In most cases, it is hidden on the back of the device. So you may have to do some searching to find it the first time.
Apple HomePod
For privacy-conscious consumers, HomePod is probably the best choice. Apple has made a name for itself by protecting customer data , and this smart speaker is no exception. However, there are a few things to consider if you want your personal information to be as secure as possible.
Block incoming calls
The only way to make or receive calls from the HomePod is by using your smartphone. So there is nothing to worry about. Moving on …
Delete voice command data
Apple is committed to ensuring that your voice commands are recorded securely. Everything is encrypted and anonymous before the company even takes a look at it, but if you’re still unsure, there is a way to completely delete this data.
According to Wired , all you have to do is turn off Ask Siri and Dictation on your iOS device. First, open the Settings app, select Siri, and turn off Ask Siri. Then go back to Settings, then General, then Keyboard and turn off Dictation. This should stop your HomePod from recording your commands later on.
Disable voice purchases
As far as I can tell, you cannot shop through the HomePod. Again, nothing to worry about.
Disable personal requests
Finally, there is one privacy issue specific to HomePod. Apple has included a feature called Personal Requests, which lets you listen to your most recent text messages and send a response through your smart speaker. The only problem is that the device cannot distinguish between different people’s voices, which means that anyone in the house can access your private messages.
To disable this feature, go to the HomePod settings on your iPhone and turn off personal requests. Or, just skip this part of the setup process.