Some Amazon Echo owners are complaining about unwanted commercial messages from Alexa. Sometimes, if you ask Alexa the weather, for example, it might give you the weather and then ask if you want ideas for stuff to buy. If you have an Echo Show, you’ll probably see pictures of some consumable items you’ve ordered in the past with a reminder that it might be time to reorder now. Reordering is as simple as saying YES
It happens enough that people are getting vocal about it. It’s these sorts of unwanted ads that seem to be annoying some people. I’ll show you how to turn them off, but first, a reminder of why they probably exist in the first place: Amazon can price its Echo speakers lower than some competitors by using it as a way to get you to buy more stuff from Amazon.
It’s similar to how Amazon can sell such affordable Kindle readers and Fire tablets. By selling at cost or below cost, Amazon brings you into its ecosystem of services and products, with the hope that you’ll buy more through Amazon with that gadget.
So, If you’re tired of those extra ads? Here’s how you can turn them off.
How to stop Alexa from asking you to buy stuff
You can stop Alexa from asking if you want ideas for stuff to buy by changing some of the notification settings in the Alexa app on your phone. Here’s what you do:
1: Open the Alexa app on your iPhone or Android phone.
2: Choose Settings.
3: Tap Notifications.
4: Select Amazon Shopping.
Turn off the option to “receive personalized recommendations and deals based on your shopping activity.”
Also, turn off “requests to rate products you’ve purchased” if you don’t want those messages, either.
Turn off the option to receive notifications for “Order Updates (Inc. Subscribe & Save.)” If you don’t want messages about saving money by subscribing to monthly deliveries.
Amazon has just released several new devices for the holiday shopping season, and the All-New Echo (4th Gen) might be a go-to Christmas gift this year. Expect shortages of this device as we get closer to the holidays, so you can take a chance at getting it cheaper closer to Christmas, or if you want to play it safe, you can buy it for just under $100 right now.
