AMAZON Alexa smart speakers can help to scare burglars away from your home.
A feature called Burglar Deterrent is said to help you do this and it’s free to download.
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According to USA Today, Burglar Deterrent takes a more serious approach to protecting your home than some other security features.
It’s a free Alexa Skill that you can download via Amazon.
Its listing explains: “Burglar Deterrent is designed to help protect your home from unwanted visitors when you are out.
“It will give the illusion that your house is occupied using realistic audio to deter potential intruders.
“A would-be thief will be convinced someone is performing daily activities such as cleaning, talking, laughing, working in the home office and preparing food.”
The feature is designed to complement your existing security measures.
It shouldn’t be used as the only method of protecting your home from intruders.
Users of the Alexa Skill can select a “sound environment” that suits them best.
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If you have your Alexa speaker in the kitchen you may want to pick kitchen sounds.
Other sound environment choices include a baby crying or a barking dog.
The sounds can be scheduled to start and finish at a set time every day.
You can also set the sounds to go off if a smart doorbell detects motion.
Users who subscribe to the premium version can turn on real-time mode that adjusts sounds for the time of day.
The listing explains: “This will increase realism and respect neighbors by automatically adjusting sounds, activity level and volume based on the current time of day or night.”
The app has mixed reviews with some users saying it works but think the sounds could be more realistic or timed better.
One review states: “Alexa asks you to say ‘high’ or ‘low’ which doesn’t work.
“I found it works well if you say ‘Alexa, high activity mode’ or ‘Alexa, low activity mode’ instead.
“Also, to shut it up, you need to say ‘Alexa, ask Burglar Deterrant to stop’ instead of ‘Alexa, stop’. She then replies with something along the lines of ‘I’ve stopped Burglar Deterrent. Welcome home’!”
