Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, and more and more things can be done with a simple voice command. This is the case of Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, which allows you to make purchases with your voice. The problem is that this function comes up hypothetical With the smart speaker and don’t ask for too many checks. This can lead to unpleasant situations where we buy something by mistake or buy paid subscriptions without even realizing it.
From organization of consumers and users (OCU) They make the following recommendations to avoid scams or scams with this type of product.
Buy online with your voice
They explained from the organization that they had conducted an investigation to find out the real problem with this service. Specifically, they tested Amazon echo pointa smart speaker with which you can ask an infinite number of things: from playing a specific song to answering questions or controlling other compatible devices.
The problem comes when we try to access features that require subscription, As with the service Amazon Music Unlimited, which has a price of 4.99 euros per month. However, when making purchases, the questions Alexa asks to confirm payment are far less precise and lead to confusion, OCU explained. “These questions about whether we want to buy or subscribe to something It can make it easier for us to say yes,” we conclude.
When configuring the speaker from the Alexa app on your mobile phone, the first thing you should do is enter or create an Amazon account, include some information about your tastes and preferences, and finally, Includes voice identifier. Although it may seem that this aspect serves to recognize the user’s voice and improve the experience or restrict certain actions of that person, in fact it is not.
Everyone else can successfully ask Alexa to sign up for a paid service or buy a product in the same way a speaker owner might. he is called, Voice recognition does not act as a barrier Or verify that the person who made the purchase is the actual owner of the account.
This big inconvenience is due to the fact that confirmation of purchase comes Disabled by default. However, we can configure it to achieve a safer experience and avoid any inconvenience, activating any of the following options in the Purchase Confirmation section of mobile app.
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Confirmation of purchases and payments with a voice profile: in this case we must include the voices we want to allow.
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Confirm purchases and payments with a voice code: We can generate a 4-digit code.
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The option to activate or deactivate purchase confirmation – in the case of Android – or, for iPhone users, anyone can make purchases.
From the OCU, they remember that if it’s too late and you fall into the “trap,” you at least have a choice Cancel the request. The same does not happen with subscriptions, because in many cases they do not accept returns.
How to avoid unintended requests
In addition, OCU collects a series of Steps you can follow If you want to make sure your smart speaker won’t buy anything you don’t want online. This is the procedure:
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Open the “Alexa” mobile app.
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Choose “Settings and account” Displays the list.
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inside “Voice shopping”Activate the option ‘confirm purchase’.
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Finally, select one of these two options: “sound profile” also “audio code”.
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