How to Delete Every Conversation Your Echo, Google Home Device, or HomePod Has Heard

At a Glance

When you say the wake word, whether it be “Alexa” for the Amazon Echo, “OK Google” for Google Home devices, or “Siri” for Apple’s HomePod, your virtual assistant springs into action. Unfortunately, since your smart speaker is listening for its wake word, that means it is also always listening to what’s going on around it.

So, what do you do if you decide you don’t want your voice data saved on a major tech firm’s servers forever and ever? Luckily, all of these companies allow you to delete your voice data from their servers, even if they don’t make it easy to find out how to go about it. In this article I’ll walk you through deleting your voice data, no matter which virtual assistant (or device) you use.

Is My Echo, Google Home Device, and HomePod Really Always Listening to Me?

Yes, your smart speaker is always listening. Whether the speaker uses Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri, the speaker must listen for its wake phrase (“Alexa,” “OK Google,” or “Siri,” respectively) to be able to react when you ask a question or issue a command. However, the device is not actively recording what it hears.

Once you say the device’s trigger word it will begin recording, because it has to make a recording so it can send your queries or commands to the cloud, where it will be processed.

Where Is My Voice Data Stored?

While Alexa, Google Home, and Siri all seem smart, the smart speaker you’re using is actually rather dumb. The device itself has little processing power on board. The speaker simply listens to what you say and sends it to the corporate mothership, where Amazon, Google, or Apple servers process the request and return information back to the speaker for it to be spoken aloud.

The speaker requires an internet connection, which is why Alexa, Siri, and other digital assistants are worthless when your internet is down.

Unfortunately, when your questions and commands are sent to Amazon, Google, and Apple they are then stored on their servers until you (or the company) delete them.

Does My Voice Stay on Servers Forever?

Well, forever is a long time, but without you taking action to have your conversations removed from these servers, they will stay there for quite a while.

Luckily, you can have your smart speaker conversations and other related information removed from those servers.

How Do I Delete My Conversations From Amazon, Google, or Apple Servers?

Alexa

You can manage your Alexa voice recordings using two methods. Before deleting any recordings, you should be aware that Amazon keeps the recordings associated with your device(s) and your account to learn your voice and the way you speak in order to improve the results provided to you.

The Alexa App

The first, and perhaps easiest way, to manage your Alexa voice recordings is to open the Alexa app on your smartphone, tablet, or other compatible device.

Do the following:

1. In the Alexa app, tap the “More” icon.
2. Tap “Settings.”
3. Tap “Alexa Privacy.”
4. Tap “Review Voice History.”
5. You’ll now be able to see the audio recordings connected to your Amazon Echo device(s) and other Alexa-capable devices.
6. Tap the dropdown menu that says “Displaying: Today, All devices and profiles.” Now, you can designate which recordings you want to review. You can select them based on the date (Today, Yesterday, Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, All History, or Custom) the device that you conversed with, or by user profile (Alexa can determine who asked the questions according to your voices). In this case, let’s tap “All History.” This will allow you to delete all of your recordings.
7. Tap “Delete” to delete all of your recordings.

In a Web Browser

If you don’t have access to the Alexa app, you can also delete your conversation recordings through your favorite web browser.

Do the following:

1. Open your web browser of choice.
2. Go to Amazon’s Content and Devices page.
3. Log in if needed.
4. You’ll see a list of all of your Alexa-capable devices. Click on the device you wish to delete your conversations from.

5. Click on the “Delete voice recordings” button to remove the conversations you’ve had with that device.

6. Confirm that you wish to delete the recordings.

7. Repeat for each device.

Google Home

Your Google Home conversation recordings can be deleted both on the Google website and in the Google Home app. Keep in mind that just like Amazon, Google keeps the recordings associated with your account to learn your voice and become better at understanding you.

In a Web browser

To delete an item:

1. In your browser, go to your Google Account.
2. In the left hand menu, click “Data & privacy.”
3. Under “History settings,” click “Web & App Activity”

4. Make sure that the “Include voice and audio activity” box is checked, then click “Manage All Web & App Activity.”

5. Click the “X” next to the item or day’s worth of items you want to delete.

To delete your audio recordings automatically:

1. In your browser, go to your Google Account.
2. In the left hand menu, click “Data & privacy.”
3. Under “History settings,” click “Web & App Activity “ and then “Manage activity.”
4. Above your activity, in the search bar, select “More” and then “Keep activity for.”
5. Click the button for how long you want to keep your activity And then click “Next” and then “Confirm.”

To turn off voice and audio activity:

1. Open your web browser of choice.
2. Go to myaccount.google.com.
3. At the top left, click “Data & privacy.”
4. Under “History settings,” click “Web & App Activity.”
5. Next to “Include voice and audio activity,” check the box.

On an Android Device

Delete one item at a time:

1. On your Android device, open the Settings app.
2. Tap “Google” and then tap “Manage your Google account.”
3. At the top, tap “Data & privacy.”
4. Under “History settings,” tap “Web & App Activity” And then “Manage activity.” On this page, you see a listing of your past activities. Items with the audio icon include a recording.
5. Tap “Delete” next to the item you want to delete and then tap “Delete” once more.

Delete all items at once:

Please note that following these steps will delete all of your Web & App Activity, not just the items that include a recording.

1. On your Android device, open the Settings app.
2. Tap “Google” and then tap “Manage your Google account.”
3. At the top, tap “Data & privacy.”
4. Under “History settings,” tap “Web & App Activity” And then “Manage activity.” On this page, you see a listing of your past activities. Items with the audio icon include a recording.
5. Above your activity, tap “Delete.”
6. Select “All time.”
7. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Delete your audio recordings automatically:

It should be noted that by following these steps you will be turning on the auto-delete option for all of your Web & App Activity items, not just items that include an audio recording.

1. On your Android device, open the Settings app.
2. Tap “Google” and then tap “Manage your Google account.”
3. At the top, tap “Data & privacy.”
4. Under “History settings,” tap “Web & App Activity” And then “Manage activity.” On this page, you see a listing of your past activities. Items with the audio icon include a recording.
5. Above your activity, in the search bar, select “More” and then “Keep activity for.”
6. Tap the button for how long you want to keep your activity and then tap “Next” and then tap “Confirm.”

On an iPhone or iPad

Turn voice and audio activity on or off:

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial and then tap “Manage your Google Account.”
3. At the top, tap “Data & privacy.”
4. Under “History settings,” tap “Web & App Activity.”
5.  Uncheck the box next to “Include voice and audio activity.”

With this voice and audio activity setting toggled off, your voice inputs from interactions with Google Search, Assistant, and Maps won’t be saved. Keep in mind that turning off voice and audio activity does not delete previously saved audio. However, you can delete your audio recordings from your Google Account in your web browser, as laid out above.

Siri

Siri is available on numerous Apple devices, including the HomePod, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Deleting your Siri conversations must be done on a device-by-device basis.

On Your HomePod or HomePod mini

To delete your Siri history on your HomePod or HomePod mini do the following:

1. Open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
2. Tap or click the HomePod or HomePod mini you wish to delete your Siri conversations from.
3. Tap or click the gear icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
4. Tap or click “Siri History.”
5. Tap or click “Delete Siri History.”
6. Tap or click “Delete Siri History” at the bottom of the screen.
7. Tap or click “Dismiss” on the “Your Request Was Received” message.

On Your iPhone or iPad

To delete your Siri history on your iPhone or iPad do the following:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap “Siri & Search.”
3. Tap “Siri & Dictation History.”
4. Tap “Delete Siri & Dictation History.”
5. Confirm your intent by tapping “Delete Siri & Dictation History.”
6. Tap “OK” on the “Your Request is Being Processed” message.

On Your Mac

To delete your Siri history on your Mac do the following (macOS Sonoma):

1. Click “System Settings” on the Mac Dock.

2. Click “Siri & Spotlight.”

3. Click “Delete Siri & Dictation History...”
4. Confirm by clicking “Delete.”

5. Click “OK” on the confirmation message.

On Your Apple Watch

To delete your Siri history on your Apple Watch do the following:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap “Siri.”
3. Tap “Siri History.”
4. Tap “Delete Siri History.”
5. Confirm your intent by tapping “Delete Siri History.”
6. Tap “Dismiss” on the “Your Request is Being Processed” message.

On Your Apple TV

To delete your Siri history on your Apple TV do the following:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on “General.”
3. Click “Siri History.”
4. Select “Delete.”
5. Next to “Siri History”, you’ll see “Received” to confirm your request.

Opting Out of Sending Siri Content to Apple

You can opt-out of sending Siri information to Apple. Just like deleting your Siri History, it must be done on a device-by-device basis.

On Your iPhone or iPad

To opt-out on iPhone or iPad do the following:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on “Privacy & Security.”
3. Tap on “Analytics & Improvements.”
4. Tap the toggle switch next to “Improve Siri & Dictation” so it’s in the gray “OFF” position.

On Your Mac

To opt-out on your Mac do the following:

1. Click “System Settings” on the Mac Dock.

2. Click on “Privacy & Security.”

3. Click on “Analytics & Improvements” in the left-hand pane.

4. Toggle off “Improve Siri & Dictation.”

On Your Apple TV

To opt-out on your Apple TV do the following:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on “General.”
3. Click on “Privacy.”
4. Click on “Improve Siri & Dictation.”
5. Click on “Improve Siri & Dictation.”

In Closing

The Amazon Echo, Google Home, and HomePod smart speaker devices make it convenient to do everything from looking up recipes, asking trivia questions, or controlling the lighting in your home.

As we’ve seen, all of the above store information about your conversations with the devices. It is important to control what type of information Amazon, Google, and Apple have about you, using the information I’ve provided above.