How to Protect Your Smart Speaker From Ads
Now is the time for commercials in which your favorite speaker for smart home demonstrates what it can do. This means that you may have already experienced your Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri answering questions from the TV . And the annoying thing is that every time it happens, you have to shout “Ok Google, stop” or a similar phrase for a smart speaker.
Several companies are already working on a solution to this problem. For example, in preparation for last year’s Super Bowl commercial featuring celebrities posing as Alexa, Amazon reportedly changed its commercials to prevent sound from echoing in viewers’ homes.
But that doesn’t stop smart speakers of all kinds from answering unasked questions. Here’s how to limit the chances of your smart speaker accidentally activating, although it shouldn’t.
Amazon Echo
Amazon allows you to change the wake word on your Echo device, although you cannot customize other than four pre-programmed options: Alexa, Computer, Echo, and Amazon. If you’re trying to prevent ads from activating your device, you should avoid “Alexa”, although you’ll also have to consider what words you hear or use in everyday conversation.
To change the wake word on your Echo device, simply say “Alexa, change the wake word” or open the Alexa app, tap the Devices icon in the lower right corner, select your device, and tap “Wake word.” From there, choose your preference.
For Echo devices with screens, this can be done right on the device under Settings> Device Options> Wake Word.
If you prefer to mute the echo – for example, when watching commercial TV – you can mute the speaker microphone. Press the microphone mute button on your device; the ring and button will turn red, and voice commands using the wake word will be muted until you turn the microphone back on. (Unlike Google and Apple’s smart speakers, you can’t tell Alexa to mute the microphone for you.)
Google home
Officially, Google Home only responds to “Ok Google” and “Ok Google”, so you can’t change your word for wake up. A report from 9to5google last year suggested that Google might add support for custom hot words, although this has yet to find its way into Google Home.
The best way to prevent unexpected activation of Google Home is to mute your microphone. Find the microphone button or turn on your device and switch or press to turn it off. You can also say, “Ok Google, turn off your microphone.”
Apple HomePod
Like other Apple devices, HomePod listens for “Hey Siri” and has no other trigger words. If you want to turn off Always Listen, you have to turn off Hey Siri.
You can simply say “Hey Siri, turn off Hey Siri,” and your assistant will do the job for you. Otherwise, take out your iOS device and open the Home app. Press and hold HomePod, then tap Settings. From here go to Siri settings. You can turn Listen Hey Siri on or off.
While the HomePod won’t listen to your wake-up phrase, you can still activate Siri by tapping on the top of the speaker – similar to other iOS devices.
Remember, if you turn off voice commands on your device, you will lose most of its smart functionality until you turn on the microphone again. Your presenter will not be able to hear or respond to requests, making them nearly useless.
Of course, not all users experience these headaches with all devices. Some smart speakers ignore wake words even if you want them to be heard, while others selectively activate in response to TV noise, other human voices, and phrases that look like wake words.
Some smart assistant-enabled devices are trained to recognize your voice . For example, my boyfriend’s iPhone is not responding to my shouts of “Hello Siri.” Android phones and tablets with Google Assistant use a similar learning process for “Ok Google,” and Google Home has a Voice Match feature that is designed to prevent other voices from accessing some personal information.
Overall, though, smart speakers aren’t nearly as picky, so if you’re worried about what you’re listening to when you shouldn’t, or are annoyed by random babbling in response to advertisements, mute your microphone or simply unplug your device entirely.