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Freedom251 › Blog › Alexa privacy

How to Change Alexa Privacy Settings and Review Your Voice Recordings

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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To review or delete Alexa voice history, open the Alexa app and go to More > Alexa Privacy > Review Alexa History. To change how long Alexa keeps recordings, go to More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data. You can also use Amazon’s Alexa Privacy Settings page.

How to review what Alexa recorded

  1. In the Alexa app, select More > Alexa Privacy > Review Alexa History. Alternatively, open Amazon’s Alexa Privacy Settings.

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  2. Select a history item to inspect the available details. Alexa history can include audio streamed to the cloud, a transcript of what Alexa understood, typed requests, and Alexa’s responses. Related requests may be grouped into a chat.

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  3. Delete an individual history item if you no longer want it in your Alexa cloud history. Deletion begins a cloud deletion process; it may take time to complete, and while it is processing, the data may still be used for personalization.

    #1 Best Overall
    Amazon Echo Dot (newest model) - Vibrant sounding speaker, Designed for Alexa+, Great for bedrooms, dining rooms and offices, Glacier White
    • Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
    • Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
    • Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
    • Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
    • Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.

Amazon’s Alexa and Alexa Device FAQs describes Review Alexa History as a way to play cloud-streamed recording audio, review transcripts and typed requests, and see Alexa’s responses.

How to change Alexa voice-history retention

In the Alexa app, go to More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data. The retention choices Amazon documents distinguish between keeping audio for a set period and not saving voice recordings:

Rank #2
Amazon Echo Dot (newest model) - Vibrant sounding speaker, Designed for Alexa+, Great for bedrooms, dining rooms and offices, Charcoal
  • Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
  • Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
  • Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
  • Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
  • Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Choice Audio Transcripts and typed requests
Automatically delete after 3 months Saved until automatic deletion, measured from the last request in a chat. Retention beyond the voice-history deletion is not stated for this choice in Amazon’s FAQ.
Automatically delete after 18 months Saved until automatic deletion, measured from the last request in a chat. Retention beyond the voice-history deletion is not stated for this choice in Amazon’s FAQ.
Do not save voice recordings Removed after processing. Kept for 30 days after the last interaction in a chat.

These periods are the settings Amazon lists in its Alexa and Alexa Device FAQs. Because related requests can be grouped as a chat, automatic deletion timing is based on the chat’s most recent request, not necessarily the date of its first request.

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What voice-history deletion does—and does not—cover

Deleting Alexa voice history is not a guarantee that every record related to an interaction disappears everywhere. It applies to the Alexa history in Amazon’s cloud; it does not necessarily remove other interaction records, data outside Amazon’s cloud, or information a skill developer retains. Amazon says skill developers do not receive voice recordings, but they may retain information from skill interactions.

Rank #3
Amazon Echo Dot (newest model) - Vibrant sounding speaker, Designed for Alexa+, Great for bedrooms, dining rooms and offices, Deep Sea Blue
  • Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
  • Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
  • Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
  • Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
  • Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.

If you have changed your default Amazon marketplace, Amazon says you need to delete Alexa voice history separately for each marketplace. App navigation and feature availability can also vary by app version, supported device, and marketplace.

Voice-history settings versus the Echo microphone mute

Account history controls govern saved or retained history; they do not turn off an Echo’s microphones. For a device-level pause, press the Echo microphone mute button. Amazon says the microphones disconnect, a red light appears, and Alexa will not respond to voice commands until the microphones are turned on again. See Amazon’s Echo microphone help.

Rank #4
Sale
Amazon Echo Dot Max (newest model), Alexa speaker with room-filling sound and nearly 3x bass, Great for living rooms and medium-sized spaces, Designed for Alexa+, Graphite
  • Meet Echo Dot Max: Experience rich room-filling sound that automatically adapts to your space and fine-tunes playback. Features a built-in smart home hub and Omnisense technology for highly personalized experiences.
  • Music to your ears: With nearly 3x the bass versus Echo Dot (2022 release), it fits beautifully in any space, delivering your personal sound stage with deep bass and enhanced clarity. Listen to streaming services, such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and SiriusXM. Encore!
  • Do more with device pairing: Connect compatible Echo smart speakers and smart displays in different rooms, or pair with a second Echo Dot Max to enjoy even richer sound
  • Simple smart home control: Set routines, pair and control lights, locks, and thousands of smart home devices that work with Alexa without needing a separate smart home hub. With Omnisense technology, you can activate routines via temperature or presence detection.
  • Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot Max doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
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Other Alexa privacy controls

To manage whether voice recordings are used to improve Amazon’s services, open More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data and review the available controls. Skill permissions and advertising preferences are separate: find them under More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences. Changing those settings is not the same as deleting voice history.

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Best Value
Amazon Echo Studio (newest model), Immersive spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, Designed for Alexa+, Graphite
  • Meet Echo Studio: Redesigned in a compact size that is 40% smaller than the original to deliver immersive spatial sound. Dolby Atmos adds space, clarity, and depth to make your entertainment even better. Enjoy powerful bass and crystal-clear vocals. Features a built-in smart home hub and Omnisense technology for highly personalized experiences.
  • It's like a concert in your living room: Experience immersive sound thanks to spatial audio and Dolby Atmos in a compact design that fits easily into any living space. With room adaptation technology, Echo Studio analyzes the acoustics of your room, fine-tuning playback for optimal sound no matter where it's placed.
  • Do more with device pairing: Play music across multiple Echo devices for multi-room music, or pair with a second Echo Studio for even more powerful sound.
  • Simple smart home control: Set routines, pair and control lights, locks, and thousands of devices that work with Alexa without needing a separate smart home hub. With Omnisense technology, you can activate routines via temperature or presence detection.
  • Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering: With eero Built-in, Echo Studio doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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