A family member died in April. It is so comforting to be able to go back and hear his voice. So glad this feature was on. Looking into saving these on anther device. Drop in is fantastic for my mom with dementia. All us adult kids can drop in on her throughout the day and see that she is okay. She doesn't need to remember how it works, which is awesome. She just hears our voice and excitedly comes running over to see who came in to visit! Love it!
This was so helpful. As a senior who lives alone I feel vulnerable and illiterate where my devices are concerned. This turorial gives me more control, and, therefore, more security and confidence. Thank you
Don't know if you know, you can use Alexa to call for help, should you fall or whatever. She won't call 911, but she will call a contact that you need to add to list. Very easy.
Totally agree with you on this. It's a real pain when people don't explain how to get to the option. Additionally many of the options like SIDEWALK for example, do NOT exist on UK devices. So showing the phone's settings screen makes it easy to see that they don't exist over here.
You are so awesome. I would never have figured that these things were on my device and defaulted to do or release all this information. And whoever gave you thumbs down.. welll they must be magicians for the techno world (oh yaay for those geniuses) because this information is EXTREMELY VITAL and so helpful. I'm passing it on to everyone I know. Thank you much.
The Alexa drop-in feature has stopped working for me and I have no idea why. We have 5 Alexas all over the house and this was a useful feature in our 3 story house. We unplugged each of them one at a time and plugged them back in and that solved the problem for one day but we are back to the same problem again. If I tell it to "drop-in everywhere" it tells me we are online with 4 other devices and if I then try and drop-in to one device it says I can't because there is a session already open but we can't make use of that session. Nothing I do, works. ****** When I use the Alexa app on my phone this feature works fine. I did NOTT need another unexplained problem to solve. WRZ 2023-03-02
The Drop In feature is one of the top reasons I bought the Echo Show. We want an intercom-like feature in our house so we could call each other for help in cases when either of us are unable to move about.
Definitely something that's useful in some situations. When the wife and I retire in a couple of years we're headed down to where the grandkids are. We may definitely do this so that we have instant communication with them in case something happens to us.
Very helpful for a tech newbie like me. I was able to follow each step without a problem. Now to figure out how to get Alexa to stop blurting out random things! Thanks for these helpful tips!
Thanks so much for the ideas. The echos are very helpful for someone like me with major memory loss due to a brain tumor. I can have it remind me to do everything. Instant subscriber !
All I needed to do was update my Alexa app on my phone and it installed Sidewalk! So I turned it off. Thanks so much for this very informative video. I appreciate people who share this kind of information with every body else who wouldn't have known about the risky vulnerabilities Amazon subjects us to. I really love my Echo and Alexa and so does the rest of my family, but privacy IS a big thing too.
I am brand new to Alexa and found your home address is in Alexa on your phone too! Not good if someone finds your lost phone at any time. You can remove this and put a home phone number on your phone somewhere instead.
I can't find the amazon sidewalk in the account settings feature for echo dot 3 in my app. It's only showing voice purchasing and workouts. Don't know if they deleted this feature.
I have this running joke with my friends where every time my echo goes off or I ask it something I always interrupt it and say “shut up” and one day it recommended brief mode to me lmao
Great informational video. Reminder though, it is possible that everytime Amazon does 'silent' updates, they may be resetting all of their configuration back to default settings, so in the case of Sidewalk, they may be turning it back on without you knowing it. I hate having to turn my "customizable" options back to my personal choices.
You can turn off "background app refresh" in iPhone Settings (sorry, don't know about Android.) Kind of a nuclear option but at least you'll be in control of when the app is updated.
The Alexa drop-in feature has stopped working for me and I have no idea why. We have 5 Alexas all over the house and this was a useful feature in our 3 story house. We unplugged each of them one at a time and plugged them back in and that solved the problem for one day but we are back to the same problem again. If I tell it to "drop-in everywhere" it tells me we are online with 4 other devices and if I then try and drop-in to one device it says I can't because there is a session already open but we can't make use of that session. Nothing I do, works. ****** When I use the Alexa app on my phone this feature works fine. I did NOTT need another unexplained problem to solve. WRZ 2023-03-02
Thanks immensely for your video. The capabilities of the echo device are so immense that I can't keep up. I completed each step. We all need to keep our privacy PRIVATE. Thank you.
I'm pretty forgetful so I am thinking of getting an echo. I decided to watch this video first and I'm glad I did because these things are the reason I didn't get an echo years ago. Now that I know how to control them I feel much better. I am going to watch ALL your videos. You're a great instructor. Thanks again.
I learned a lot today. Thank you very much. I enjoy your delivery. Straight to the point with step by step instructions. I watched a different guy today that took 6 minutes of blather before any of the tutorial part even started, which btw, included having to wait for his kid to finish eating a sandwich. Yours was great. I subscribed.
Wow, I'm so glad I stumbled upon your video. I just bought an Amazon Echo for my Mum for Christmas. I will be following your advice on what to turn off. Thanks for the information it is of great value Happy Christmas to you 😊
As far as amazon drop in is concerned i highly recommend disabling it for bedrooms but leaving it enabled for public spaces such as the porch livingroom and kitchen
Steve, you are incredible to share these tips. I am grateful thank you, this is your second video I have watched. I got 2 Echo dots 4th gen and a subwoofer and I was able to follow your instructions had to go back a few times and look again that's ok coz it doesn't matter how long it takes for me to get there just as long as I do, right. lol...
I’m getting an echo dot for my birthday next month so I wanted to be able to set it up without having to ask someone else(my son) to help me. Thanks for helping me to prepare for my device set up in advance😉 I have saved your videos and will keep the ones I need for future reference 😉👍Thanks again
Thank you so very much for this presentation. You taught me things I would never have known about the Alexa app! I am VERY impressed by your entire presentation! I have watch 2 of your videos so far, and I will watch as many as I can in the future 🙂
1. I didn't even have this app on my phone. I had to first find out how to add it. 2. Great video. 3. Easy to follow along and pause. 4. He doesn't speak in what I call 'speed rap' like a lot of youtubers do so that was really nice. 4. I don't do things like shop or email on my phone - all I do is make a few calls or text now and then when I'm away from home. (I have a landline which is my primary phone) So knowing this stuff was very helpful. So, because of my limited usage of the phone, do I really even need this app? Are all of those things that I just turned off there whether or not I have the app? If not, then I'll just delete it and go back to the way it was.
I really appreciate you sharing this very important information. I just started using Amazon devices and was unaware of any of those security and privacy settings.
for anyone who got stuck like me you have to delete the playlist option or it'll just play the same song over and over, idk may have just been me but this fixed it, other than that great video thank you so much this help me so much.
Just came across a channel and subscribed after seeing the great content. This is one reason why I have so far resisted from using Amazon products inside my home. Ring home security is on the cards, but still looking for alternatives. They do seem to have a good integration among all their devices which is a big draw.
I honestly didn't know about all these features on Alexa. I never really bothered to investigate any. I'm glad I bumped into your video because it was so helpful Thank you Steve. I'll be watching future videos and even going back to other videos that I saw you have that should be very educational. 👍
Two hours of frustration trying to get our Reolink camera in sync with Alexa and the Echo Show 10....solved in less than 5 minutes! Thank you thank you thank you. We can now see our security cam live feed! No more blindly answering the front door. :)
Thanks for the video, very useful and easy to follow. What I’d like to know is there a way to just have the clock up whilst it’s in sleep mode and not have all the suggestions things flicking past? I’d much prefer to just have a clock. I’ve just got my new echo show 5 (3rd gen) today, not sure if that’s the same as yours, thanks mate 👍🏻
Excellent!! I know we're a bit late to the game, but we finally got our Alexa and your videos are so helpful and I can follow along and change the settings! Thanks a million! Liked & subscribed....
Amazon admitted that turning the recordings OFF does not actually do anything. and that they have thousands of people working with access to those recordings.
What if you have a Alexa device and it hears you listening to this video and goes about internally changingitself so bad even after the making these changes nothing happened self learning
thanks, I have learned more about my Echo 5 & 8 in the few minutes watching your video than than th months I have had them, you are doing a good job, keep up the good work!
As far as drop in, you do not need to worry about it. Nobody can drop in unless you give them permission. If you turn this feature off,you will not be able to drop in in your devices if you wanted to either. And if you turn off this feature you can not use your devices as intercom system. It's nice to drop in if your out to check on pets.
Very helpful information. What would be even more helpful would be to give the photo of the settings page discussed more real estate in your video so we can see it better. Right now we're mostly viewing you and hardly seeing the setting level discussed. Thank you.
I always appreciate your helpful Alexa features videos. I have learned so much more about what my devices do and what I should look out for. Thanks Steve!
I was considering buying an echo dot. And was concerned about it snooping into my privacy. But thank you so much for all this information. Yes, our privacy is super important. So I'll save this till I purchase one. And then go through them. But I'm also going to share this video with friends.
I've been cursing out Alexa almost everyday because a good jam is on, and I'm having a blast, and then I sit down, and it stops playing. I curse out, " Alexa, what's wrong with you woman"?! Lol After this video, you really helped a lot. I appreciate it a lot!
Very informative, thank you! My main reason for getting an Echo and I just got the 4th generation. I want to be able to turn on and off outdoor lights when I am out of town. Will I be able to do this if I turn off sidewalk? This is my new toy and am still learning it.
Let me first say that it was an informative video and I did give it a thumbs up but if you are disabling all of the features then I wander why you have the units at all. I'm new to Alexa (but not tech or PA's) and I just purchased 17 of these for Christmas for my home and I can't see disabling any of the features mentioned. The only one that I really even paused and considered was the internet access feature however that would have been to preserve bandwidth for the home but nothing else. I'm sure you are aware that most cable and other internet providers use your equipment to provide hotspots for other people anyway and you can not disable that feature (short of not using their equipment). So if someone connecting to your devices without your consent is the issue that already happens everyday. The other features are useful although the "brief mode" might get considered if she just is talking too much.With the amount of information that is gathered on us daily I'm not too concerned if my voice recordings are being catalogued. The camera hacking is a possible real threat but I ordered devices with camera covers so although I won't be disabling the feature we will keep them covered until being used. I'm sure I'll go through and delete the recordings at random times but its really for the same reason that I delete the history and cache from my computer's browser which has nothing to do with privacy. I guess through it all my view is that given the amount of information that Facebook, Google, social media platforms and others have on us we limit the amount that we post or voluntarily give out but Alexa won't be collecting a whole lot of new data but even if she did, ok....I just want to find out how to get the car extended warranty spammers from stop calling my phone!!! Happy Holidays
I'm pretty much the same. If I'm going to have it I'm going to use it. But I do think they should have things like sidewalk & drop-in disabled until you click on something to knowingly give permission. I mean I have Google opinions app that has surveys. They constantly were you at this store on this date. So I know they're tracking me & I have given permission for it. Because I want to use the money I earn on it for games & renting movies. As for sidewalk. Yeah I'd enable it if for no other reason than it could help return a lost pet. Personally I'd be completely devastated if anything happened to my cats. They're all I have. Still I'm probably not going to be buying one because I don't really want one.
Great information everyone can benefit from. These days, silicon Valley has invaded out lives to the point where we have to turn things off to have privacy. Even then it is questionable. Nevertheless, we need more videos like this to make people aware of who may have access, what is being recorded and who may be watching without our knowledge and most importantly, how to protect ourselves.
Thank you! Very helpful. I'd somehow accidently turned on "Play music while cooking" or something. Anyway, each evening I'd hear noises in my kitchen or would return home from an event and music was playing, which creeped out! You helped me turn this off. Wonderful!
I find the drop-in feature extremely useful. I live next door to my elderly mother and SUPER elderly great aunt (she's 98), both have dementia. I can keep an eye on them and ask if they need something without walking next door. I have two Echo 5s in my parents' house and three in mine so I have two of my Echoes setup up to constantly monitor the two next door. Granted this is a very specific use case but it's exceptionally useful and time saving. All the Echoes and Rings are attached to my accounts of course. Oh! And those little 5s are great in stereo mode. I was surprised how good the speakers are.
This is was super helpful. I loved the brief mode setting. Tried it but it didn't work. I still keep getting the long introduction before it starts a song for example.
I enjoyed this video immensely as I have no one to instruct me on how to use the Alexa echo dot. It was a Christmas present and I was scared of it for a short time. I now have 2 as I find the echo dot very helpful with appt reminders, keeping a meditation schedule etc. Please, continue making the videos.
I've had my Echo Dot 4 days and was still mooching around the settings (Not really knowing what I was supposed to look for! lol) so your vid was very instructive and quite easy to follow.......and a good little workout for being able to easily move around the 'menu" and check out & alter different settings...many thank sofr your help! Cheers, Doons
Well done. I truly believe you organize, format and present info the best of anyone on UA-cam and elsewhere for that matter! Since A LEx a listens randomly (in error of course 🤐) I recommend keeping “never” as a setting for keeping recording. Retired Gov’t employees think this best lol
Hi Steve - Great tutorial - one question: Alexa when I ask it something and it answers, it used to allow me to continue asking other related questions, but now it does not - was this feature disabled from an update, or did it disable due to a reset that I did, and how I can enable this again? Please HELP.
The app I downloaded today doesn't have the sidewalk feature, at least not in the place you showed. It has recognised voices, kid skills, voice purchasing and workouts in that section. Can you tell me how to turn sidewalk off in the updated app please.
Thank you for sharing .I’m in the Uk and I don’t think we have sidewalk...I could not find it . But most disappointing is we don’t have celebrity voices...I got excited hoping Sir Patrick Stewart was on there . 🖖🏻💫
Just set mine up today and sidewalk is there and on by default I'm in stockport UK I could not get the celebrity voices though but you can set a few seleb alarm voices
Hey Steve, great video. I was wondering if you could help. I just got the 1st gen ES8, and it’s great, videos look amazing, and music sound fantastic, but I noticed that the touch screen isn’t that responsive. I would swipe to the left from the right to show the “Discover Alexa” screen, and when I try tapping on video/music it won’t go to either, it just goes back to the Lock Screen. It just started to happen, and I don’t know how to fix it. Let me know if you have any suggestions you can provide. Thanks!
Sidewalk uses such a small amount of bandwidth your neighbors aren't going to benefit in any way lol, many tech experts have already addressed this. Maybe before posting such scare tactics and rubbish research things first. Your wifi password is still your main line of protection in your home, Sidewalk isn't going to change anything. Yes, you're not a hacker, nor do you seemingly understand internet security! All of this info is supplied to customers up front, it's not a big secret conspiracy. User error is a bigger issue nowadays than product issues. It's 2022 people. If you aren't educating yourself about your devices from day 1 do NOT buy them!!! I've worked in and with computers since the 1990's, it's amazing how often ignorant people blame the equipment and not their inability to use the item properly. I could steal someone's identity far easier with the crap they share on social media daily, the info they wave around in public without a VPN, or basic security software on their phones or laptops. Clean your cache on ALL devices, dump cookies, stop being targets and blaming others and take responsibility for your own useage. Emails went out to amazon customers as did snail mail letters.
Steve, As a newbie I am grateful for all your info. I have VPN on my devices. Does that protect me from some of the problems? For instance, would a hacker parked in front of my house be able hack through the VPN protection? Thanks 🧐
A family member died in April. It is so comforting to be able to go back and hear his voice. So glad this feature was on. Looking into saving these on anther device. Drop in is fantastic for my mom with dementia. All us adult kids can drop in on her throughout the day and see that she is okay. She doesn't need to remember how it works, which is awesome. She just hears our voice and excitedly comes running over to see who came in to visit! Love it!
Thanks for sharing your story!
Great video! I purchased the pop so I can drop in on my mom. So far it has been very helpful
I had no idea you could do this. Just went back more than 2 years and heard my Mom who died in October 2022. So lovely
This was so helpful. As a senior who lives alone I feel vulnerable and illiterate where my devices are concerned. This turorial gives me more control, and, therefore, more security and confidence. Thank you
Don't know if you know, you can use Alexa to call for help, should you fall or whatever. She won't call 911, but she will call a contact that you need to add to list. Very easy.
@@noahway13how do you do that please I'm elderly and no family and have diabities
Best part was you walked us through each thing. Not just said turn this off. For us new users it was very very helpful. Thank you
Totally agree with you on this. It's a real pain when people don't explain how to get to the option. Additionally many of the options like SIDEWALK for example, do NOT exist on UK devices. So showing the phone's settings screen makes it easy to see that they don't exist over here.
I concur👏🏾
You are so awesome. I would never have figured that these things were on my device and defaulted to do or release all this information. And whoever gave you thumbs down.. welll they must be magicians for the techno world (oh yaay for those geniuses) because this information is EXTREMELY VITAL and so helpful. I'm passing it on to everyone I know. Thank you much.
Thanks for info it was very helping. more and more of our privacy is challenged every day.
Absolutely. I am new to Amazon devices and this vid was very thorough and helpful. Thanks!
0:00 Intro
0:53 Feature #1
- Sidewalk
4:08 Feature #2
- DropIn
5:43 Feature #3
- Hunches
6:22 Feature #4
- Use of Voice Recordings
8:27 Feature #5
- Skill Permissions
9:35 Feature #6
- Turn off Echo Device Cameras
10:09 Feature #7 - Brief Mode
Thank you.
Thank you Fly boy.
wow thank you!! actually it was rude from the uploader to put those timeline points without any title. You kindly did the job so thank you very much
@@enjoeymusic Yep. Makes me less likely to subscribe and/or like.
The Alexa drop-in feature has stopped working for me and I have no idea why.
We have 5 Alexas all over the house and this was a useful feature in our 3 story house.
We unplugged each of them one at a time and plugged them back in
and that solved the problem for one day but we are back to the same problem again.
If I tell it to "drop-in everywhere" it tells me we are online with 4 other devices
and if I then try and drop-in to one device it says I can't because there is a session
already open but we can't make use of that session. Nothing I do, works.
****** When I use the Alexa app on my phone this feature works fine.
I did NOTT need another unexplained problem to solve.
WRZ 2023-03-02
The Drop In feature is one of the top reasons I bought the Echo Show. We want an intercom-like feature in our house so we could call each other for help in cases when either of us are unable to move about.
Definitely something that's useful in some situations. When the wife and I retire in a couple of years we're headed down to where the grandkids are. We may definitely do this so that we have instant communication with them in case something happens to us.
Good for when someone has something heavy fall on them and they can't move but can call out, "Anybody! I'm stuck!"
Very helpful for a tech newbie like me. I was able to follow each step without a problem. Now to figure out how to get Alexa to stop blurting out random things! Thanks for these helpful tips!
how? app version is different and lots feature is not even displayed / available in the ios app, eg "sidewalk"
Drop in - they can drop in at any time.
Reminds me of Endora from Bewitched ! :)
New subscriber here.
You speak very clearly, your demonstrations are good as well , and not too fast, Thanks.
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you. Would have never known about the "sidewalk" feature.
Excellent and very concise. So many people on these instruction videos get so wordy! Your “cut to the chase” format was so enjoyable!!
Thanks so much for the ideas. The echos are very helpful for someone like me with major memory loss due to a brain tumor. I can have it remind me to do everything. Instant subscriber !
I too share memory issues since my brain surgery long ago is why I choose to refrain from any of these devices. I keep it simple old school. Lol
All I needed to do was update my Alexa app on my phone and it installed Sidewalk! So I turned it off. Thanks so much for this very informative video. I appreciate people who share this kind of information with every body else who wouldn't have known about the risky vulnerabilities Amazon subjects us to. I really love my Echo and Alexa and so does the rest of my family, but privacy IS a big thing too.
I am brand new to Alexa and found your home address is in Alexa on your phone too! Not good if someone finds your lost phone at any time. You can remove this and put a home phone number on your phone somewhere instead.
@@CelticAngel555lol this is a ridiculous comment
Thank you for this information. You’re presentation is perfect, a short explanation, then instructions. 😀
I can't find the amazon sidewalk in the account settings feature for echo dot 3 in my app. It's only showing voice purchasing and workouts. Don't know if they deleted this feature.
Liked how when you would say “Alexa” you lowered the volume on that word so no ones devices would activate.
Still activated mine every time.
Great video, however some of the features you mentioned were not in my device like sidewall. Is this perhaps because I am in Australia?
Awesome video and super easy to follow. Great voice and the step by step visual was simple to follow. Thank you. You have another follower.
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for not placing irritating bleeps instead of Alexa. Seems to be huge trend now.
I have this running joke with my friends where every time my echo goes off or I ask it something I always interrupt it and say “shut up” and one day it recommended brief mode to me lmao
🤣
🤣🤣🤣 same here
Great informational video. Reminder though, it is possible that everytime Amazon does 'silent' updates, they may be resetting all of their configuration back to default settings, so in the case of Sidewalk, they may be turning it back on without you knowing it. I hate having to turn my "customizable" options back to my personal choices.
So, do they? There must be a way to know
Does this really happen ?
Do I just have to keep checking ?
7
You can turn off "background app refresh" in iPhone Settings (sorry, don't know about Android.) Kind of a nuclear option but at least you'll be in control of when the app is updated.
The Alexa drop-in feature has stopped working for me and I have no idea why.
We have 5 Alexas all over the house and this was a useful feature in our 3 story house.
We unplugged each of them one at a time and plugged them back in
and that solved the problem for one day but we are back to the same problem again.
If I tell it to "drop-in everywhere" it tells me we are online with 4 other devices
and if I then try and drop-in to one device it says I can't because there is a session
already open but we can't make use of that session. Nothing I do, works.
****** When I use the Alexa app on my phone this feature works fine.
I did NOTT need another unexplained problem to solve.
WRZ 2023-03-02
You deliver very concise and easy to follow instructions. Yours have been the most helpful to me thus far. Thank you so much.
Happy to hear that. Thank you.
Thanks immensely for your video. The capabilities of the echo device are so immense that I can't keep up. I completed each step. We all need to keep our privacy PRIVATE.
Thank you.
Very helpful! The pace was just right.
I'm pretty forgetful so I am thinking of getting an echo. I decided to watch this video first and I'm glad I did because these things are the reason I didn't get an echo years ago. Now that I know how to control them I feel much better. I am going to watch ALL your videos. You're a great instructor. Thanks again.
I learned a lot today. Thank you very much. I enjoy your delivery. Straight to the point with step by step instructions. I watched a different guy today that took 6 minutes of blather before any of the tutorial part even started, which btw, included having to wait for his kid to finish eating a sandwich. Yours was great. I subscribed.
I finally got an echo dot. This was extremely helpful because I know nothing about it. Thank you
Being new to the Echo devices, this was very helpful and informative. Thanks so much.
I did learn a lot from your explanation, it was done slow and clear for me to figure out things. This is new to me but you made it manageable.
Thank you so much for this video! My daughter gave me an Echo for Christmas and I've not had the chance to go through everything yet.
Wow, I'm so glad I stumbled upon your video. I just bought an Amazon Echo for my Mum for Christmas. I will be following your advice on what to turn off. Thanks for the information it is of great value Happy Christmas to you 😊
Excellent , descriptive ,good use of the display screen on the left made it easy to pause as i went through it , good job :)
As far as amazon drop in is concerned i highly recommend disabling it for bedrooms but leaving it enabled for public spaces such as the porch livingroom and kitchen
Steve, you are incredible to share these tips. I am grateful thank you, this is your second video I have watched. I got 2 Echo dots 4th gen and a subwoofer and I was able to follow your instructions had to go back a few times and look again that's ok coz it doesn't matter how long it takes for me to get there just as long as I do, right. lol...
Thank you Nina! I'm happy to hear that you like them. :)
Thank you Steve! I just received an Echo Dot. I truly appreciate knowing about the features that can compromise network security.
Another tip: when whisper mode is activated, try asking Alexa to tell you a joke... it makes her punchlines 100x funnier.
Right😂😂
5
X pop
Yea... on one of her whispering jokes apparently she says Moo 🐮 loudly tho 😂
That's a great tip mate. I guess this device with mediatek support does not tell any non-veg jokes in whisper.
I’m getting an echo dot for my birthday next month so I wanted to be able to set it up without having to ask someone else(my son) to help me.
Thanks for helping me to prepare for my device set up in advance😉
I have saved your videos and will keep the ones I need for future reference 😉👍Thanks again
We call our device Lexi when we want to talk about her but not activate her
Since we know Alexa is listening for it's name we know Alexa is always listening.
I call mine bitch but to each their own.
She always hears u
Haha - we call her Sally!!
@@ovarianbarbarian4186 yeah... I've stuck mine in the fridge, freezer, microwave because my wife bought it and I don't want it here. Haha
Thank you so very much for this presentation.
You taught me things I would never have known about the Alexa app!
I am VERY impressed by your entire presentation!
I have watch 2 of your videos so far, and I will watch as many as I can in the future 🙂
Great video, clear and easy to follow. Thanks for highlighting some of the "Orwellish" stuff!
1. I didn't even have this app on my phone. I had to first find out how to add it. 2. Great video. 3. Easy to follow along and pause. 4. He doesn't speak in what I call 'speed rap' like a lot of youtubers do so that was really nice. 4. I don't do things like shop or email on my phone - all I do is make a few calls or text now and then when I'm away from home. (I have a landline which is my primary phone) So knowing this stuff was very helpful. So, because of my limited usage of the phone, do I really even need this app? Are all of those things that I just turned off there whether or not I have the app? If not, then I'll just delete it and go back to the way it was.
I really appreciate you sharing this very important information. I just started using Amazon devices and was unaware of any of those security and privacy settings.
for anyone who got stuck like me you have to delete the playlist option or it'll just play the same song over and over, idk may have just been me but this fixed it, other than that great video thank you so much this help me so much.
Just came across a channel and subscribed after seeing the great content. This is one reason why I have so far resisted from using Amazon products inside my home. Ring home security is on the cards, but still looking for alternatives. They do seem to have a good integration among all their devices which is a big draw.
Do you know in the UK that sidewalk and hunches are not yet on there.
The sidewalk feature is one that really concerned me so I'm glad you showed how to turn it off.
I honestly didn't know about all these features on Alexa. I never really bothered to investigate any. I'm glad I bumped into your video because it was so helpful Thank you Steve. I'll be watching future videos and even going back to other videos that I saw you have that should be very educational. 👍
Summary
You have smartphone, you have no privacy 🤗
Thank you. Its nice that people share such informative things for people not so knowledgeable
Thank you for sharing the Amazon Sidewalk feature. My wifi has gotten more laggish lately and I couldn't figure out the reason why
Two hours of frustration trying to get our Reolink camera in sync with Alexa and the Echo Show 10....solved in less than 5 minutes! Thank you thank you thank you. We can now see our security cam live feed! No more blindly answering the front door. :)
Thanks man. A new Alexa user here, so this is a really good help.
Thanks for the video, very useful and easy to follow.
What I’d like to know is there a way to just have the clock up whilst it’s in sleep mode and not have all the suggestions things flicking past? I’d much prefer to just have a clock.
I’ve just got my new echo show 5 (3rd gen) today, not sure if that’s the same as yours, thanks mate 👍🏻
Hi, I'm in the UK. I haven't go an 'Amazon Sidewalk' setting. Do I need to turn off something else?
No, because as always we haven't got the feature in the UK yet, just keep an eye on it
@@cer2299 so how have you made your first $million? 😳
I received my Show 5 yesterday and followed your suggestions, this is great info and timing. You have a new Subscriber.
Step by step with visual is so nice. Thank you
Excellent!! I know we're a bit late to the game, but we finally got our Alexa and your videos are so helpful and I can follow along and change the settings! Thanks a million! Liked & subscribed....
Thanks Steve for the information.
Good to know someone is on our side.
Thank you for walking us through these steps and making our homes and families even safer.
My concern is if these changes actually work. I trust no one. As we know anything is possible in today's world.
Amazon admitted that turning the recordings OFF does not actually do anything. and that they have thousands of people working with access to those recordings.
Since we know Alexa listens for its name we know Alexa is always listening
What if you have a Alexa device and it hears you listening to this video and goes about internally changingitself so bad even after the making these changes nothing happened self learning
thanks, I have learned more about my Echo 5 & 8 in the few minutes watching your video than than th months I have had them, you are doing a good job, keep up the good work!
Thanks for the information. I had no idea that some of these features needed to be disabled.
Thank you so much man !
I totally just subscribed , you keep it real but not "real simple" .
As far as drop in, you do not need to worry about it. Nobody can drop in unless you give them permission.
If you turn this feature off,you will not be able to drop in in your devices if you wanted to either. And if you turn off this feature you can not use your devices as intercom system.
It's nice to drop in if your out to check on pets.
Exactly!
Very helpful information. What would be even more helpful would be to give the photo of the settings page discussed more real estate in your video so we can see it better. Right now we're mostly viewing you and hardly seeing the setting level discussed. Thank you.
I always appreciate your helpful Alexa features videos. I have learned so much more about what my devices do and what I should look out for. Thanks Steve!
Happy to help!
I was considering buying an echo dot.
And was concerned about it snooping into my privacy.
But thank you so much for all this information.
Yes, our privacy is super important.
So I'll save this till I purchase one. And then go through them.
But I'm also going to share this video with friends.
Excellent presenter, thank you for keeping this so Non-technical
I've been cursing out Alexa almost everyday because a good jam is on, and I'm having a blast, and then I sit down, and it stops playing. I curse out, " Alexa, what's wrong with you woman"?! Lol
After this video, you really helped a lot. I appreciate it a lot!
Direct and no filler thankyou
Very informative, thank you! My main reason for getting an Echo and I just got the 4th generation. I want to be able to turn on and off outdoor lights when I am out of town. Will I be able to do this if I turn off sidewalk? This is my new toy and am still learning it.
Great instruction. Very straightforward and informative. Thank you!
if you dont have the Alexa ap, are alexa and echo s all have sidewalk installed upon setup?
Thank you for going into detailed explanation on everything you talked about. Extremely helpful
Thank you so much, this was very helpful to me, I just got my Echo 3 generation 2 days ago. I’m learning how to use it day by day.
Let me first say that it was an informative video and I did give it a thumbs up but if you are disabling all of the features then I wander why you have the units at all. I'm new to Alexa (but not tech or PA's) and I just purchased 17 of these for Christmas for my home and I can't see disabling any of the features mentioned. The only one that I really even paused and considered was the internet access feature however that would have been to preserve bandwidth for the home but nothing else. I'm sure you are aware that most cable and other internet providers use your equipment to provide hotspots for other people anyway and you can not disable that feature (short of not using their equipment). So if someone connecting to your devices without your consent is the issue that already happens everyday. The other features are useful although the "brief mode" might get considered if she just is talking too much.With the amount of information that is gathered on us daily I'm not too concerned if my voice recordings are being catalogued. The camera hacking is a possible real threat but I ordered devices with camera covers so although I won't be disabling the feature we will keep them covered until being used. I'm sure I'll go through and delete the recordings at random times but its really for the same reason that I delete the history and cache from my computer's browser which has nothing to do with privacy. I guess through it all my view is that given the amount of information that Facebook, Google, social media platforms and others have on us we limit the amount that we post or voluntarily give out but Alexa won't be collecting a whole lot of new data but even if she did, ok....I just want to find out how to get the car extended warranty spammers from stop calling my phone!!! Happy Holidays
I'm pretty much the same. If I'm going to have it I'm going to use it.
But I do think they should have things like sidewalk & drop-in disabled until you click on something to knowingly give permission.
I mean I have Google opinions app that has surveys. They constantly were you at this store on this date. So I know they're tracking me & I have given permission for it. Because I want to use the money I earn on it for games & renting movies.
As for sidewalk. Yeah I'd enable it if for no other reason than it could help return a lost pet. Personally I'd be completely devastated if anything happened to my cats. They're all I have.
Still I'm probably not going to be buying one because I don't really want one.
Finally a useful video about Alexa! I don't like whisper mode or brief mode but it's good that you covered them.
Great information everyone can benefit from. These days, silicon Valley has invaded out lives to the point where we have to turn things off to have privacy. Even then it is questionable. Nevertheless, we need more videos like this to make people aware of who may have access, what is being recorded and who may be watching without our knowledge and most importantly, how to protect ourselves.
Thank you! Very helpful. I'd somehow accidently turned on "Play music while cooking" or something. Anyway, each evening I'd hear noises in my kitchen or would return home from an event and music was playing, which creeped out! You helped me turn this off. Wonderful!
I find the drop-in feature extremely useful. I live next door to my elderly mother and SUPER elderly great aunt (she's 98), both have dementia. I can keep an eye on them and ask if they need something without walking next door. I have two Echo 5s in my parents' house and three in mine so I have two of my Echoes setup up to constantly monitor the two next door. Granted this is a very specific use case but it's exceptionally useful and time saving. All the Echoes and Rings are attached to my accounts of course.
Oh! And those little 5s are great in stereo mode. I was surprised how good the speakers are.
I don't have all the features mentioned in the video; are these only available outside the UK?
For Drop In - deactivate all devices at once. Alexa App < Communicate < Profile icon < my communication settings (under your name) < Allow Drop in
Great video Steve
I just bought my Echo 8 and you have good tips
And I got a ring door bell as well
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I’ll let you know how it goes
I do not have drop-in in my App for my Echo Dot, or sidewalk, I'm in Oregon
Probably an earlier version
I don't have Sidewalk or Drop-in either or Hunches. I have an older Echo
This guy is great we need more people like this in the world, Thanks Steve...
Dude! I love drop ins. It’s the only way I can get my wife to look at her phone
This is was super helpful. I loved the brief mode setting. Tried it but it didn't work. I still keep getting the long introduction before it starts a song for example.
I enjoyed this video immensely as I have no one to instruct me on how to use the Alexa echo dot. It was a Christmas present and I was scared of it for a short time. I now have 2 as I find the echo dot very helpful with appt reminders, keeping a meditation schedule etc. Please, continue making the videos.
I've had my Echo Dot 4 days and was still mooching around the settings (Not really knowing what I was supposed to look for! lol) so your vid was very instructive and quite easy to follow.......and a good little workout for being able to easily move around the 'menu" and check out & alter different settings...many thank sofr your help! Cheers, Doons
Well done. I truly believe you organize, format and present info the best of anyone on UA-cam and elsewhere for that matter! Since A LEx a listens randomly (in error of course 🤐) I recommend keeping “never” as a setting for keeping recording. Retired Gov’t employees think this best lol
Hi Steve - Great tutorial - one question: Alexa when I ask it something and it answers, it used to allow me to continue asking other related questions, but now it does not - was this feature disabled from an update, or did it disable due to a reset that I did, and how I can enable this again? Please HELP.
Thanks, dude. Really, really, helpful.
The app I downloaded today doesn't have the sidewalk feature, at least not in the place you showed. It has recognised voices, kid skills, voice purchasing and workouts in that section. Can you tell me how to turn sidewalk off in the updated app please.
Thank you very valuable info. I turned off some of these features that I don't use it but were on.
Very helpful, I had no idea about these items.
Thank you for sharing .I’m in the Uk and I don’t think we have sidewalk...I could not find it . But most disappointing is we don’t have celebrity voices...I got excited hoping Sir Patrick Stewart was on there . 🖖🏻💫
Just set mine up today and sidewalk is there and on by default I'm in stockport UK I could not get the celebrity voices though but you can set a few seleb alarm voices
@@ipaddy thanks . I will take another look .
I’m in the UK too and can’t see SideWalk either... 🤔
Inconceivable... In the US, lift, chips, and boot, doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means. Maybe in the UK it’s called something else.
.
Also, you don’t celebrities in the UK, they are all in Hollywood now. Even Superman and Spider-Man are British...
= )
.
Hey Steve, great video. I was wondering if you could help. I just got the 1st gen ES8, and it’s great, videos look amazing, and music sound fantastic, but I noticed that the touch screen isn’t that responsive. I would swipe to the left from the right to show the “Discover Alexa” screen, and when I try tapping on video/music it won’t go to either, it just goes back to the Lock Screen. It just started to happen, and I don’t know how to fix it. Let me know if you have any suggestions you can provide. Thanks!
thank you i didnt know a lot of my things where already enabled... just turned them off .
Glad to hear that it helped.
Sidewalk uses such a small amount of bandwidth your neighbors aren't going to benefit in any way lol, many tech experts have already addressed this. Maybe before posting such scare tactics and rubbish research things first. Your wifi password is still your main line of protection in your home, Sidewalk isn't going to change anything. Yes, you're not a hacker, nor do you seemingly understand internet security! All of this info is supplied to customers up front, it's not a big secret conspiracy. User error is a bigger issue nowadays than product issues. It's 2022 people. If you aren't educating yourself about your devices from day 1 do NOT buy them!!! I've worked in and with computers since the 1990's, it's amazing how often ignorant people blame the equipment and not their inability to use the item properly. I could steal someone's identity far easier with the crap they share on social media daily, the info they wave around in public without a VPN, or basic security software on their phones or laptops. Clean your cache on ALL devices, dump cookies, stop being targets and blaming others and take responsibility for your own useage. Emails went out to amazon customers as did snail mail letters.
You can choose times that you would be available for the Drop In feature.
Steve,
As a newbie I am grateful for all your info. I have VPN on my devices. Does that protect me from some of the problems? For instance, would a hacker parked in front of my house be able hack through the VPN protection? Thanks 🧐