You Can Listen To The Recordings Alexa Makes Of You
It can easily be done on the Alexa app.
We all have that one neurotic friend who harps on about how Alexa is listening in on our private conversations like clockwork every time you ask the smart assistant to do anything.
And while it's annoying as hell, it turns out they're... kind of right.
Yes, our Alexas are holding recordings of us. It's something we all knew to be true, but now we can actually hear - and delete - them.
This week, former Amazon exec Robert Fredrick admitted he turns off his Alexa app when he wants to have private conversations as he doesn't want strangers listening in.
This is because Amazon employs 'graders' who listen to clips to ensure your Alexa is working as intended. In this way, the device stores short voice clips, every time you give Alexa command, which is then sent to the quality control workers. Y'see?
However, sometimes Alexa records snippets of your conversation by accident when it think you've said the command word. Those with family members named Alex, Alexa or any similar variation will know this all too well.
Luckily, there's a super easy way to find your recordings, listen to them, and delete them, so Amazon can store nothing on you.
Firstly, you need to open you Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet and navigate to Setting on the upper left menu bar. Next, tap Alexa Privacy and scroll down to Review Voice History.
You can select which time period you'd like to pull up recordings for, including an option for your entire history, and all of the recordings will soon appear.
To listen to each recording, simply tap the arrow in the right hand corner and click the small play button.
In some instances, Alexa will say when it thinks the recording wasn't intended for her, so won't display the text. Still, you can listen to this recording in just the same way.
Sufficiently creeped out? Good, now it's time to delete - if you want.
To delete, simply tick the boxes next to the recording you want to be deleted and select 'Delete Selected Recordings' so wipe them. For ease, you can also wipe all of your recording at once, thought this might not be the best idea (more on that later).
You can even enable voice deletion, so you don't have to keep repeating the process. Turning it on will mean you can simply command Alexa to delete you recording as soon as you make them. Simply say "Alexa, delete what I just said" or "Alexa, delete everything I said today". Simples.
Now, while the thought of Alexa having recordings of you is all very 'the robots are storing our information', it might not be the best idea to wipe all of your recording history.
Though deleting them is going to give you peace of mind, it'll probably make your experience with the device a whole lot worse.
Alexa learns your voice over time, ultimately improving your experience, and deleting this is going to undo all this work. So maybe just have a look what recordings were made by mistake, and delete as necessary.
Now you can smugly tell that friend of yours that your privacy is ensured.
Featured Image Credit: PACiara Sheppard