How to stop Alexa from buying things

By Jen Karner
last updated

Alexa can make your life easier in dozens of different ways, including ordering items off of Amazon for you. However, just because you're asking about something doesn't mean you actually want to purchase it. Since voice ordering is turned on by default when you set up your Amazon Echo, you may want to know how to add security when making purchases, or turn off voice purchasing entirely.

You can do it all right from the settings on your phone, and we've got the details for you!

How to turn off voice purchasing

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap the menu button that looks like three horizontal lines in the upper left corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Settings.

  1. Tap voice purchasing.
  2. Tap the button next to purchase by voice to turn off voice purchasing.

If you still want to be able to purchase stuff, but want to prevent others from doing it on your behalf, add a purchase pin code.

How to add a purchase pin code

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap the menu button that looks like three horizontal lines in the upper left corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Settings.

  1. Tap voice purchasing.
  2. Tap the text bar under require confirmation code and type in your 4-digit pin.
  3. Tap save changes.

Have you turned off voice purchasing?

Has Alexa tried to buy things you didn't want it to? Have you started using a confirmation code, or turned off voice purchasing altogether? Let us know about it in the comments below!

Jen Karner
Jen Karner

Jen is a staff writer who spends her time researching the products you didn't know you needed. She's also a fantasy novelist and has a serious Civ VI addiction. You can follow her on Twitter.

8 Comments
  • Don't buy Alexa lol
  • Wait, this feature is turned on BY DEFAULT? Holy hell, why does anyone even have an Echo?! It's already hard enough to find the exact thing you want to order on Amazon with a frickin' browser, I can't imagine how many untold millions Amazon's made due to accidental purchases.
  • Use a site called Price Jump. It will take you to the item for the lowest price on Amazon. Extremely helpful because as you know Amazon has the same product listed in various places at different prices.
  • Turned mine off as soon as I was seeing up the Echo Dot.
  • Thanks for the tip. We got the Dash Wand delivered this weekend but haven't set it up yet.
  • My wife is named Alexa. Will these instructions get her to stop spending my money?
  • so alexa will buy things without you saying something like "alexa, buy so and so"? that's sneaky of amazon.
  • Don't know if something changed, but neither of my Echo Dot's had that turned on by default. (Actually it is an account setting, but activating devices didn't change it) Recall checking when the internet and TV news programs were chock full of cute stories of kids ordering doll houses and cookies around Christmas. Seemed to me the parents enabled it and failed to PIN it. There also seems there must be some shopping history involved. If I say, 'buy paper towels', what brand? how many? Some of this must be based on previous purchases, or some additional negotiation would be indicated. If a kid just said 'buy some cookies', do we assume Amazon would just send some random cookies? I don't think this is as egregious as turning on an Echo and it automatically sending you stuff from Amazon. I think there is a bit of consumer involvement here.