Archives - Smart Home


Proceed with caution when connecting accounts to your Google Nest

The more accounts you connect to your Google Nest device, the more convenient it is. However, some accounts are better left disconnected, like your online banking account. Information that stays within Google is encrypted, but information that goes from your Google Nest to a third-party is not necessarily protected.

Turn up your Alexa volume

Your Alexa device may wake up if you accidentally say its wake word or if you say a word that is similar. This has resulted in Alexa devices recording private conversations, sending unwanted text messages or even making unintentional purchases. Alexa typically responds when you talk to it, but you may not be able to […]

Set up a PIN for voice purchases

If you have an Alexa device, you can set it up so that it will purchase items when you ask it to. However, this gives anyone in your home, including guests, the power to buy something with your credit card easily. It’s more secure to enable a PIN that you also have to say along […]

Mute your Google Nest device when not using it

Words that sound close enough to the device’s wake words could enable it to record your conversations. Similar to your Alexa device, it will only retain relevant information. However, to protect your privacy as much as possible, you could mute the device when you’re not expecting to use it. You can do this by pushing […]

Delete your Alexa voice recordings daily

Your Alexa device keeps recordings of some of the things you say to it. Only recordings that are considered relevant are retained, however, that could be more than you realize. If you don’t want a record of what you’ve said to your Alexa device, delete your voice recordings every night. Just say “Alexa, delete what […]

Change your Alexa wake word

If you have an Echo, or another Alexa device, it could be listening to your conversations if your wake word is something you use often. Amazon claims that only relevant conversations are stored, but if you want to limit the amount of conversations that fall in this category, you may need to be more cautious. […]