Enhance the Security of Your Home With This New Alexa Feature
We usually use AI assistants and smart speakers in the context of keeping your conversations and home life separate from the watchful ears of these digital assistants (and those who might eavesdrop on them ), but it turns out that they themselves can act as security measures. Amazon’s AI assistant, Alexa, will soon be able to act as its own complementary home security system. Amazon will release a free update that will give all US Alexa users access to the previously available invite-only Alexa Guard feature, which the company has been testing over the past few months on its line of Echo smart speakers.
Alexa Guard is a security feature that can be enabled on all Echo smart speakers, and while it is not intended to be used as a replacement for your existing home security, it can enhance any level of protection you currently have for your home. Alexa Guard can:
- Use smart lighting in your home to make it look like you are at home.
- Hear and record potentially dangerous sounds (examples provided by Amazon include broken glass or smoke alarms), then send alerts to connected phones and other devices that trigger the recording.
- Synchronize with any Ring security devices installed in your home and activate the Ring security system when a threat is detected.
- Show you the remote camera feeds if any of your Echo devices have a built-in camera
You can find other use cases on the Amazon Support Guard FAQ page .
How to enable Alexa Guard
Alexa Guard will be free for all US Echo users, but you’ll need to wait for the update to hit your phone before you can access it. The best way to manually check for updates is to check the Alexa App Store pages on Google Play , Amazon, or the iOS App Store . Otherwise, an update is usually installed automatically when it is available.
Once you’ve applied the update (and made sure your Echo devices and your phone are paired correctly ), here’s how to enable Alexa Guard:
- Open the Alexa app
- Go to Settings> Security
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
- After completing the setup, you can turn on Alexa Guard monitoring by saying “Alexa, I’m leaving” whenever you leave the house (Guard will not be active while you are at home).