Don't Buy It in the First Place But It's a Good Device Just Because You're Privacy-Minded Doesn't Mean You Can't Have Nice Things Don't Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater

As a privacy-minded person, you might be tempted to avoid Amazon Echo products altogether. However, it's not necessary to throw out the baby with the bathwater just because you have concerns about your data being collected or used in certain ways. In fact, many of these features can be turned off or adjusted to give you more control over how your device is used.

The First Feature You Should Turn Off: Drop-Ins

Drop-ins are a feature that allows someone to start talking through your Echo speaker without having to accept the call. This can be annoying and potentially intrusive. To turn off drop-ins, go to the Devices tab in the app, find the Echo device you want to adjust, scroll down, and click on "Communications." From there, toggle off the "Drop-ins" feature or change who has permission to drop in.

The Second Feature You Should Turn Off: Hunches

Hunches are a feature that allows Amazon's assistant to initiate conversations. While this can be useful for smart home devices, it can also be annoying if you're not expecting a call or message. To turn off hunches, click the icon in the upper left corner of your Echo app, go to Settings, and scroll down to Hunches. From there, toggle off the "Hunches" feature.

The Third Feature You Should Turn Off: Data Gathering

One of the most significant concerns with Amazon Echo products is data collection. By default, Amazon can save and use your voice recordings for research purposes. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can turn it off by clicking the same icon in the upper left corner of your Echo app, going to Settings, and scrolling down to Hunches or Settings. From there, toggle off the "Use my voice recordings" feature.

The Fourth Feature You Should Turn Off: Skill Permissions

Skills are third-party apps for your smart speaker or smart display that can perform a wide range of functions, from games to learning tools to smart home devices. However, some skills may have access to sensitive information about your home or personal life. To audit the permissions for your skills, click the icon in the upper left corner of your Echo app, go to Settings, and scroll down to "Skills." From there, review each skill's permissions and toggle off any that make you uncomfortable.

The Fifth Feature You Should Turn Off: The Camera

Finally, if you have a smart display with a camera, be sure to turn it off when not in use. This is particularly important if you're concerned about hacking or eavesdropping. While the original Echo Show doesn't have a physical shutter, you can still disable the camera by clicking the same icon in the upper left corner of your Echo app, going to Settings, and scrolling down to "Camera." From there, toggle off the camera feature.

By turning off these features, you can give yourself more control over how your Amazon Echo product is used and enjoyed. Remember, it's not necessary to avoid all smart speakers just because you're privacy-minded – with a little bit of effort, you can have nice things while also protecting your personal data and security.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enamazon's assistant has so many great features but not these you're better off without these here are five features for your echo product that you should turn off right now now these features aren't going to murder you or anything probably but turning them off will give privacy-minded folk a little bit more peace of mind and just generally make using your amazon echo product a little bit smoother number one drop-ins hey andrew did you get that memo i sent on the business item hey megan uh let me get back to you not a great time so anyway drop-ins can you send me the notes on the cross-collaboration synergy jargon jargon hey molly uh shooting a video let me get back to you another time drop-ins can be annoying there i got the sentence out and yeah those were pre-recorded hard to coordinate the exact right time when we're not allowed to be in the same place anyway you get the point drop-ins can be a neat way to stay in touch but once enabled someone could just start talking through your echo speaker you don't even have to accept the call you can change this feature by going to the devices tab in the machine and yeah we're muting that word so we don't make your smart speakers then pick the device you want go to communications scroll down and you'll find drop-ins there you can turn off the feature entirely or change who has permission to drop in number two hunches speaking of interruptions yeah i'm not going to do the same bit again hunches let amazon's assistant initiate the conversation they're generally for the smart home so if you left your door unlocked or your lights on and you're about to go to bed your amazon echo dot might be able to let you know you can get things started by saying do you have any hunches and it will search for anything in an unusual state or if you give a command like goodnight the echo dot might say but your light's still on now hunches can be useful if you want that give and take maybe you long for any kind of interaction you can get like me and my cat for instance it's not me though the walls of my one bedroom apartment are not closing in i don't talk to my cat all the time hello but the extra interaction with the dot would startle me more than anything and in a place my size i'd notice if i left something on to turn off hunches click the icon in the upper left then settings then scroll down to hunches or you can just say turn off hunches job well done number three data gathering here's a big one if you're a privacy-minded person by default amazon can save and use your voice recordings for research purposes if you don't like this you can turn it off and or limit how long recordings are saved head to that same icon and settings again this time hit scroll down and you can toggle off the use of your voice recordings in the same menu you can actually set your voice recordings to delete after a certain period of time number four skill permissions while we're here let's go back one and take a look at skill permissions skills are basically third-party apps for your smart speaker or smart display games learning tools smart home stuff that can all be done with skills and skills might have access to a lot of info your home address payment info location services so while you're here take a quick audit of these menus and see if any skills have access to info you don't want to share and number five the camera the last one is really simple if you have a smart display with a camera shutter it when you're not using it the original echo show doesn't have a physical shutter but there's still a button to disable the camera hacking web cans is a notorious method of spying on people so better safe than sorry and really with all of this less is more discretion is the better part of etc etc turn off these features your amazon echo is going to be that much better thanks for watching if you enjoyed the video please hit that thumbs up button and subscribe to cnet's youtube channel for more such as the features you should turn off for google assistant and yes i get that the obvious solution if you're really worried about privacy is to pitch this thing to the curb or don't buy it in the first place but it's a good device just because you're privacy-minded doesn't mean you can't have nice things don't throw out the baby with the bathwater i may have lost the metaphor there thanks for watching like and subscribe i'm gonna shudder this camera nowamazon's assistant has so many great features but not these you're better off without these here are five features for your echo product that you should turn off right now now these features aren't going to murder you or anything probably but turning them off will give privacy-minded folk a little bit more peace of mind and just generally make using your amazon echo product a little bit smoother number one drop-ins hey andrew did you get that memo i sent on the business item hey megan uh let me get back to you not a great time so anyway drop-ins can you send me the notes on the cross-collaboration synergy jargon jargon hey molly uh shooting a video let me get back to you another time drop-ins can be annoying there i got the sentence out and yeah those were pre-recorded hard to coordinate the exact right time when we're not allowed to be in the same place anyway you get the point drop-ins can be a neat way to stay in touch but once enabled someone could just start talking through your echo speaker you don't even have to accept the call you can change this feature by going to the devices tab in the machine and yeah we're muting that word so we don't make your smart speakers then pick the device you want go to communications scroll down and you'll find drop-ins there you can turn off the feature entirely or change who has permission to drop in number two hunches speaking of interruptions yeah i'm not going to do the same bit again hunches let amazon's assistant initiate the conversation they're generally for the smart home so if you left your door unlocked or your lights on and you're about to go to bed your amazon echo dot might be able to let you know you can get things started by saying do you have any hunches and it will search for anything in an unusual state or if you give a command like goodnight the echo dot might say but your light's still on now hunches can be useful if you want that give and take maybe you long for any kind of interaction you can get like me and my cat for instance it's not me though the walls of my one bedroom apartment are not closing in i don't talk to my cat all the time hello but the extra interaction with the dot would startle me more than anything and in a place my size i'd notice if i left something on to turn off hunches click the icon in the upper left then settings then scroll down to hunches or you can just say turn off hunches job well done number three data gathering here's a big one if you're a privacy-minded person by default amazon can save and use your voice recordings for research purposes if you don't like this you can turn it off and or limit how long recordings are saved head to that same icon and settings again this time hit scroll down and you can toggle off the use of your voice recordings in the same menu you can actually set your voice recordings to delete after a certain period of time number four skill permissions while we're here let's go back one and take a look at skill permissions skills are basically third-party apps for your smart speaker or smart display games learning tools smart home stuff that can all be done with skills and skills might have access to a lot of info your home address payment info location services so while you're here take a quick audit of these menus and see if any skills have access to info you don't want to share and number five the camera the last one is really simple if you have a smart display with a camera shutter it when you're not using it the original echo show doesn't have a physical shutter but there's still a button to disable the camera hacking web cans is a notorious method of spying on people so better safe than sorry and really with all of this less is more discretion is the better part of etc etc turn off these features your amazon echo is going to be that much better thanks for watching if you enjoyed the video please hit that thumbs up button and subscribe to cnet's youtube channel for more such as the features you should turn off for google assistant and yes i get that the obvious solution if you're really worried about privacy is to pitch this thing to the curb or don't buy it in the first place but it's a good device just because you're privacy-minded doesn't mean you can't have nice things don't throw out the baby with the bathwater i may have lost the metaphor there thanks for watching like and subscribe i'm gonna shudder this camera nowamazon's assistant has so many great features but not these you're better off without these here are five features for your echo product that you should turn off right now now these features aren't going to murder you or anything probably but turning them off will give privacy-minded folk a little bit more peace of mind and just generally make using your amazon echo product a little bit smoother number one drop-ins hey andrew did you get that memo i sent on the business item hey megan uh let me get back to you not a great time so anyway drop-ins can you send me the notes on the cross-collaboration synergy jargon jargon hey molly uh shooting a video let me get back to you another time drop-ins can be annoying there i got the sentence out and yeah those were pre-recorded hard to coordinate the exact right time when we're not allowed to be in the same place anyway you get the point drop-ins can be a neat way to stay in touch but once enabled someone could just start talking through your echo speaker you don't even have to accept the call you can change this feature by going to the devices tab in the machine and yeah we're muting that word so we don't make your smart speakers then pick the device you want go to communications scroll down and you'll find drop-ins there you can turn off the feature entirely or change who has permission to drop in number two hunches speaking of interruptions yeah i'm not going to do the same bit again hunches let amazon's assistant initiate the conversation they're generally for the smart home so if you left your door unlocked or your lights on and you're about to go to bed your amazon echo dot might be able to let you know you can get things started by saying do you have any hunches and it will search for anything in an unusual state or if you give a command like goodnight the echo dot might say but your light's still on now hunches can be useful if you want that give and take maybe you long for any kind of interaction you can get like me and my cat for instance it's not me though the walls of my one bedroom apartment are not closing in i don't talk to my cat all the time hello but the extra interaction with the dot would startle me more than anything and in a place my size i'd notice if i left something on to turn off hunches click the icon in the upper left then settings then scroll down to hunches or you can just say turn off hunches job well done number three data gathering here's a big one if you're a privacy-minded person by default amazon can save and use your voice recordings for research purposes if you don't like this you can turn it off and or limit how long recordings are saved head to that same icon and settings again this time hit scroll down and you can toggle off the use of your voice recordings in the same menu you can actually set your voice recordings to delete after a certain period of time number four skill permissions while we're here let's go back one and take a look at skill permissions skills are basically third-party apps for your smart speaker or smart display games learning tools smart home stuff that can all be done with skills and skills might have access to a lot of info your home address payment info location services so while you're here take a quick audit of these menus and see if any skills have access to info you don't want to share and number five the camera the last one is really simple if you have a smart display with a camera shutter it when you're not using it the original echo show doesn't have a physical shutter but there's still a button to disable the camera hacking web cans is a notorious method of spying on people so better safe than sorry and really with all of this less is more discretion is the better part of etc etc turn off these features your amazon echo is going to be that much better thanks for watching if you enjoyed the video please hit that thumbs up button and subscribe to cnet's youtube channel for more such as the features you should turn off for google assistant and yes i get that the obvious solution if you're really worried about privacy is to pitch this thing to the curb or don't buy it in the first place but it's a good device just because you're privacy-minded doesn't mean you can't have nice things don't throw out the baby with the bathwater i may have lost the metaphor there thanks for watching like and subscribe i'm gonna shudder this camera now\n"