Quick Guide: Erasing Your Voice History from Alexa, Siri, and Google

Reader requested follow up to our post on the Truth About Smart Speakers and Privacy

Quick follow up here on last week’s post The Truth About Smart Speakers and Privacy:

A few of you reached out asking how to delete your voice recordings. The good news is that Amazon, Google, and Apple all provide ways to manage and delete your voice data. The bad news is that it’s not exactly straightforward unless you’re an Amazon Alexa user. Some extra effort is required for Google and Apple devices.

Quick Links for Voice Data Management

Amazon Alexa

Arguably the easiest method is using voice commands like "Alexa, delete what I just said" or "Alexa, delete everything I said today". If you’re more comfortable handling this from your phone, open up the Alexa app and follow these instructions. Amazon is the simplest of the three.

Google Home

Google is a bit more complicated when it comes to deletion. No surprise there given their wider array of services. And it’s Google. You can try using a voice command, similar with Alexa. If that doesn’t work, the instructions at this link should help you get going.

Apple HomePod/Siri

Apple is the least straightforward of the three major players. There’s this post on Apple’s website, but it doesn’t appear to cover everything. You may need to supplement the instructions with these third party instructions.

One Last General Tip

Consider setting up auto-delete features where available. Both Amazon and Google offer options to automatically delete recordings after a certain period. This "set it and forget it" approach helps maintain your privacy without requiring regular manual deletions.

Remember, while deleting your voice history is important for privacy, it may impact your device's ability to understand your commands as these recordings are used to improve voice recognition accuracy.

Just another convenience or privacy tradeoff decision.

Managing your smart speaker recordings is a great privacy move. Another one is upgrading to a paid subscription to Secrets of Privacy. To help you out, we’re offering 30% off a one year subscription. Offer is only available until January 31, 2025. Existing paid subscribers can extend their subscription at the discounted price. Get started directly below (or here). 👇

Thank you for your continued support and trust in us. Especially all of our paid subscribers - we couldn’t do this without you. 🙏

Looking for help with a privacy issue or privacy concern? Chances are we’ve covered it already or will soon. Follow us on X and LinkedIn for updates on this topic and other internet privacy related topics. We’re also now on Rumble and YouTube. Subscribe today to be notified when videos are published.

---

Disclaimer: None of the above is to be deemed legal advice of any kind. These are *opinions* written by a privacy attorney with 15+ years of working for, with and against Big Tech and Big Data. And this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended for use in furtherance of any unlawful activity.

• Privacy freedom is more affordable than you think. We tackle the top Big Tech digital services and price out privacy friendly competitors here. The results may surprise you.

• Check out our Personal Privacy Stack here.

• Discover the very real privacy risks of AI chat bots here.

• Looking to De-Google your life? Proton is one of the best ways to get there. Get started here with a paid plan for around $1/month. (affiliate link).

If you’re reading this but haven’t yet signed up, join the growing Secrets of Privacy community for free and get our newsletter delivered to your inbox by subscribing here 👇