How to stop Alexa from listening to you

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If you already own an Amazon Alexa, you know how easy they make your day-to-day life. You can ask questions, avoid pulling out your phone or utilize the different skills you can set up and create new routines.

But how much information are you allowing Alexa and Amazon to collect from you? We’ve broken down the privacy settings you should adjust on your Alexa today to use it more safely.

 

 

 

Change your Amazon Alexa privacy settings

How to find (and turn off) Amazon Sidewalk 

Most Alexa users don’t even realize this feature exists. Amazon Sidewalk creates a shared, low-bandwidth network between certain Echo and Ring devices in your neighborhood. It’s designed to help devices reconnect if they lose Wi-Fi, but many users prefer to disable it for privacy reasons.

You may not see Amazon Sidewalk in the same place as older screenshots or guides. Amazon has moved this setting in newer versions of the Alexa app, and it only appears if you have a compatible device linked to your account.

Important: The Sidewalk setting only appears for U.S. users and only if you have a supported Echo or Ring device connected to your account.

Method 1: Check directly in the Alexa app

• Open the Alexa app
• Tap More (bottom right)
• Tap Settings
• Scroll down and look for Amazon Sidewalk
• Toggle it off

Note: In some app versions, Amazon Sidewalk may appear directly under Settings rather than inside Account Settings.

Method 2: If you use Ring devices

If you own a Ring doorbell or camera, you can also manage Sidewalk inside the Ring app:

• Open the Ring app
• Tap Control Center
• Tap Amazon Sidewalk
• Toggle it off

If you don’t see Amazon Sidewalk at all

If the setting doesn’t appear in your app:

• You may not have a Sidewalk-compatible device
• Your device software may need updating
• The feature may already be disabled on your account
• You may be outside the United States

To check for updates, go to Devices in the Alexa app, select your Echo, scroll to About, and confirm the software version is current. You can also say, “Alexa, check for software updates.”

Amazon says Sidewalk uses multiple layers of encryption and limits how much bandwidth is shared. However, you can disable it at any time if you prefer not to participate in the shared network.

 

How to turn off Voice Purchasing on Alexa

You can order items on Amazon with just your voice on Alexa. This can come in handy if you’re in the kitchen and want to order more dish soap, but you don’t want this feature to be abused by anyone. Be sure to adjust your Voice Purchasing settings.

• Open your Alexa app
• Tap More with three lines on the bottom right of the screen
• Tap Settings
• Tap Account Settings
• Tap Voice Purchasing
• First, go into Purchase controls
  • You can opt for “only recognized voices” to make purchases (you can choose whose voice is recognized by adding users, or just make it for yourself)
  • You can choose “anyone with a voice code” and enable a 4-digit voice code that Alexa will require anyone using voice purchasing to say
  • You can also make it so no one can use voice purchasing
• Your Payment method used for Amazon will be stored under Purchase controls – this won’t be used if you turn off Voice Purchasing
• Depending on your app version, Kid Skills Purchasing may appear under Parental Controls, where you can log in and disable it.

 

How to turn off Alexa Voice Recordings

Anytime you speak to Alexa, it records your voice after it detects the wake word. Alexa devices continuously listen locally for the wake word, but they only begin recording and sending audio after activation, including occasional false triggers. Amazon stores those voice recordings unless you choose to delete them or set automatic deletion.

• Open your Alexa app
• Tap More with three lines on the bottom right of the screen
• Tap Settings
• Tap Alexa Privacy
• Scroll and click Manage your Alexa Data
• You can choose to enable “deletion by voice,” which means you can tell Alexa to delete what you just said, or everything you said during a time period
• You can also choose how long Amazon saves your voice recordings, and opt to not save any recordings, or save them for 3 or 18 months (some regions may default to auto-deletion rather than saving recordings indefinitely)
• Scroll to Smart Home Device History and customize what information Alexa saves about third-party smart home devices you may have set up
• Scroll to Detected Sounds History – Alexa can detect sounds like glass breaking, alarms, and more – customize how long you want to save this history of sounds
• Scroll to Help Improve Alexa and choose if you want to allow Alexa and Amazon to save and use your voice recordings for future training and development

 

How to fully stop Alexa from snooping on you

You can mute Alexa echos, the speaker or display will have a mute button that looks like this . Tap that, and a red light will appear on your device- this means Alexa will stop responding to commands.

If you want to stop Amazon and Alexa from snooping on you completely, be sure to unplug any Alexa devices when not in use.  Unplugging the device or using the mute button physically disables the microphones, preventing audio from being recorded or transmitted.

 

 

If you’re on social media platforms, be sure to change your privacy settings there, too.

• Update your Facebook privacy settings
• Update your Google privacy settings
• Update your Twitter privacy settings
• Update your TikTok privacy settings
• Update your Instagram privacy settings

More privacy settings to adjust:

• Update your privacy settings on Apple phones
• How to change your privacy settings on Android

 

Kurt’s key takeaways

Alexa can make life easier, but convenience should never come at the expense of control. The good news is that Amazon gives you real options to manage what’s stored, shared and used for training. The problem is that most people never check those settings. Taking a few minutes to review your Sidewalk, voice purchasing, and recording preferences can significantly reduce what’s shared behind the scenes. These aren’t dramatic changes. They’re simple adjustments that put you back in charge of your own data. Smart devices work best when you understand how they work. A quick privacy check today can prevent surprises tomorrow.

Have you ever checked your Alexa privacy settings before, or did this article reveal features you didn’t know were turned on? Let us know in the comments below.

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