AMAZON Alexa users have been urged to check a key setting, to avoid any accidental – or prank – purchases.
The popular Amazon smart home devices can be incredibly handy, but they can pave the way for a costly mistake or two.
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Alexa-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo has the power to buy anything said after “Alexa, buy…”, as long as the funds are in your bank account.
Alexa may misinterpret certain words or phrases as its wake word and begin listening to what is said even if it wasn’t supposed to.
This is when smart device users might find purchases being made without their knowledge or even connected devices switching on and off.
Devices can also understand what your children say too.
This means that you could find yourself with your kids Amazon wish list on your doorstep one morning.
Luckily, once an order is successfully placed, you’ll be sent an email at which point you can cancel before despatch.
How can you prevent unintended purchases before they arrive at your door?
To limit how freely an Amazon Echo can order things online, follow these simple steps:
- Open the Alexa app.
- Hit the More button to open up the menu choices.
- Head into Settings, Account settings, then Voice Purchasing.
- Turn off voice purchasing OR you can set a voice code.
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Turning it off is ideal, but the voice code will mean that when you go to buy something, you’ll then have to vocally provide that code as an added security measure.
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