How to erase data from Amazon Echo and Google Home that you no longer need

You know that you must erase your data before you can sell, donate, or recycle your computer or smartphone.

You don't want others to see your personal information, such as your documents and login credentials, if you get a second-hand item that you were using.

The same is true for smart home devices (Amazon Echo and Google Home). Given how long this type of device listens to your requests and keeps an eye on your daily activities, it's even more important to erase your data.

However, erasing data from smart speakers and cameras is not as simple as unplugging or disconnecting from a WiFi network.

For most of these devices, resetting to factory settings will erase your custom settings and some data.

It's not a difficult process, but inexperienced people may not know what to do.

For those who are about to let go of their device, here are two popular smart home devices that will help you clean up your data.

Amazon Echo

To reset your second-generation Amazon Echo and Echo Dot, press and hold the microphone off button and volume down button at the top of your device.

Press and hold for about 20 seconds to turn the light ring orange. When you release the button, the light ring turns blue, switches off, and then turns orange again, telling you that your device has returned to the factory default settings mode.

Older generation Echos with a volume ring have a reset button on the bottom of the device. If you press and hold the reset button with a clip or pin, the light ring will turn orange and follow the same process as described above.

Before you dispose of your Alexa-enabled device, it's also a good idea to unregister your device from your Amazon account.

Call the Alexa app, open the sidebar, tap Settings, and you'll see your Alexa device.

Tap the device name to open the settings screen, scroll to the "Device registration destination" item, and press "Unregister". Then, a pop-up screen will ask you if you really want to unregister.

You can also check all connected devices from the Amazon.com site. Click "Accounts & Lists"-> "Manage Content and Devices"-> "Devices" tab-> click the device you want to unsubscribe and an action button will appear below-> click "Unregister".

Echo devices with a screen will also be unregistered during the factory reset process. Follow these instructions for Echo Spot and Echo Show.

Google Home Speaker

The reset method will differ slightly depending on the model of the Google Home speaker.

However, in either case, there should be a voice confirmation from the device when it tries to reset it to factory settings. If there is no confirmation, the reset is not possible.

Google will unlink your device from your account in the same way as Amazon.

In the Google Home app, tap the device icon in the upper right corner of the home screen to scroll, find the device card of the device you want to unlink, and open "Settings" from the other icon (3 dots) in the upper right corner. Click Linked Accounts to unlink the account of the user you want to unlink (usually yourself).

Many other smart home devices

It's worth a few minutes to open the online manual (or help forum) and find out how to restore factory settings or unlink.

In that case, keep in mind that resetting your device does not necessarily mean that you can delete your data stored by the manufacturer.

However, if you are using a device that supports Alexa or Google Assistant, such as a smart speaker, and connects to your Amazon or Google account, Google or Google stores the words used by the user in the cloud. That data will survive any changes you make to your device unless you manually delete the recording (I don't want the stored audio data to remain after the smart device is disposed of). For people, here's how to delete the data).

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Source: Amazon (1, 2)

Emily Long --Lifehacker US