I use my voice to get a lot done. Siri schedules meetings for me, mutes my phone, and more.
Tap or click For five simple voice commands you’ll use all the time.
Amazon Echo can help you find your phone, lock your front door, and get inside to chat with your loved ones. Tap or click For the things I always ask Alexa to help with.
What’s the downside to always-on devices listening for commands? Almost all voice-activated technologies use microphones that listen for “wake words”. This means that they are, technically speaking, always listening.
If you want to control your privacy, here’s how to stop your smart devices from listening in.
Facebook frustration
Facebook sometimes requires microphone access for video chatting and text-to-speech purposes. You may not feel comfortable giving Facebook control of your microphone. You can follow these steps for any app that you want to block microphone access.
Note: There are many Android manufacturers, so the steps in this article may be different for your model. If so, check your model manual online.
for iPhone:
● Open the Settings application. Then, scroll down and click on Facebook.
● Switch the green switch next to Microphone to the off position.
You can also follow these steps:
● Open the Settings application. Then, scroll down and tap Privacy and Security.
● Locate and tap the menu labeled Microphone.
● Find Facebook in the list of apps and toggle the green switch to the off position.
For Android devices:
● Open the Settings app, then tap Apps.
● Tap on the app you want to change, in this case Facebook.
● Choose permissions. To change a permission setting, tap on it, then choose from the following options: Allow only while using the app, Ask every time, or Don’t allow.
If you decide to shoot a video or chat with a friend, go back to these settings and enable your microphone. You can always turn it back on when you’re done.
Turn off voice assistants
It’s been known that virtual assistants can pick up snippets of private conversations if you say something like the wake word. one study Identify 1,000 phrases that Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and Google got wrong.
If you are worried about the always-on microphone in your gadget, here are the steps to turn it off. Just know that you’re trading some comfort for privacy.
Amazon Echo:
● On your Echo device, find the button that looks like a microphone or a circle with a line on it.
● Press the button. This prevents the device from passing voltage through the internal parts of the microphone.
● If you want to use Alexa, just press the button again. You can always turn off the microphone when not in use or during a private conversation.
Siri:
● Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down and tap Siri & Search.
● Toggle the green switch next to “Listen for “Hey Siri”” to the off position.
● You can also turn off Allow Siri When Locked to prevent Siri from activating if a button is pressed in your pocket.
Google Assistant:
On Android:
● Open the Settings app on your phone, then select Apps.
● Under General, click Assistant, then View All Assistant Settings.
● From here, you can tap the toggle to turn off “Hey Google.”
On iOS:
● Open the Settings application. Scroll down and tap Privacy and Security.
● Locate and tap the menu labeled Microphone.
● Find Google Assistant in the list of apps and toggle the green switch to the off position.
Cortana on Windows 10:
● Click the Start menu button, then Settings.
● Click Privacy > Voice Activation.
● Locate the microphone on the left panel and click on it.
● Scroll down to Cortana and toggle the Microphone permission to Off.
Cortana on Windows 11:
● Click the Start menu button, then Settings.
● Click Privacy and Security > Voice Activation.
● Under Allow apps to access voice activation services, disable Cortana.
Intelligent security systems are listening, too
Even home security devices have always-listening microphones. You can disable voice recording on two popular home security devices: Google Nest and Amazon Ring.
google nest:
● Open the Nest app on your smartphone and select Camera on the Home screen.
● Press Settings.
● Select the microphone. Then press the switch to turn it off.
Amazon Ring:
● Open the Ring app on your smartphone and select the device you want to mute.
● Tap Device Settings, followed by Video Settings.
● Tap Switch audio stream and recording to turn off the microphone.
Your smart TV:
If you want to stop your Smart TV from listening to you and clearing your channel browsing history, check out our detailed guide to disabling these features on TVs made by Samsung, Vizio, LG, and more.
Tap or click Here is the easiest way to stop your smart TV from tracking you.
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