That little smart speaker in your kitchen or living room—your Amazon Echo, Google Nest, or Apple HomePod—is incredibly convenient. Need to know the weather? “Alexa, what’s the forecast?” Want to play music? “Hey Google, play some jazz.” But have you ever stopped to think about how these devices are always listening, waiting for their name to be called?
While manufacturers like Amazon assure us that these devices only record relevant conversations after hearing their “wake word,” the reality is a bit more nuanced. If your wake word is a common name or a word you use frequently in everyday conversation, your smart speaker could be passively picking up a lot more than you intend.
The Wake Word Dilemma: Always Listening, Sometimes Recording
Your smart speaker is designed to be helpful, and to do that, it needs to be constantly listening for its specific “wake word” (like “Alexa,” “Hey Google,” or “Siri”). Until it hears that word, it’s supposedly only processing audio locally, waiting for the trigger.
The problem arises when your wake word is something common.
- Accidental Triggers: How many times have you heard a story (or experienced it yourself) where someone said a word that sounded close enough to “Alexa,” and suddenly the device piped up or started recording? It happens more often than you think!
- “Relevant” Conversations: Amazon states that only “relevant conversations” are stored. But who defines “relevant”? And if your device accidentally triggers during a private discussion, a medical conversation, or a sensitive work call, parts of that audio might get sent to the cloud.
While the chances of sensitive data being misused are relatively low, why take the risk when a simple change can give you a significant boost in privacy?
Your Active Solution: Pick a Peculiar Wake Word!
This is one of the easiest and most effective steps you can take to limit how much of your private life potentially gets scooped up by your smart speaker.
Change your wake word to something you rarely, if ever, use in casual conversation.
For Amazon Echo devices, for example, you typically have a few options beyond “Alexa”:
- Amazon
- Echo
- Computer
- Ziggy (a newer option)
How to Change Your Alexa Wake Word (It’s Super Easy!):
- Open the Alexa App: On your smartphone or tablet.
- Go to Devices: Tap the “Devices” icon in the bottom right corner.
- Select Your Echo Device: Tap on “Echo & Alexa,” then choose the specific Echo speaker you want to adjust.
- Find Wake Word: Scroll down and tap on “Wake Word.”
- Choose a New Word: Select a wake word from the available options that you rarely use. “Computer” or “Ziggy” might be good choices if they don’t commonly appear in your daily chatter.
Remember, even unique wake words aren’t foolproof against similar-sounding words. But by choosing something distinct, you significantly reduce the chances of accidental recordings.
Don’t let your smart speaker eavesdrop on your private moments. Take control of your privacy by changing your wake word today!
