How to Disable Purchases on Alexa

Turn off Alexa's voice purchasing to prevent unauthorized orders

By Robert Earl Wells III
Updated on September 11, 2020

Amazon has made it easy to shop by giving voice commands to the Amazon Echo, Echo Show, Fire TV, and other Alexa devices. If you don't want your kids or anyone else buying things without your permission, then you should know how to disable purchases on Alexa.

Information in this article applies to all Amazon Alexa-enabled devices.

Why Turn Off Alexa Voice Purchasing?

You can purchase songs, movies, games, apps, and literally anything in the Amazon store with a simple request to Alexa. Alexa is always listening for your next command, and some customers have reported that Alexa added items to their shopping carts after overhearing a conversation or TV.

Alexa always asks you to confirm any transactions, so accidental purchases are unlikely. However, if you have children, they can easily make purchases without your knowledge. At the very least, you should consider setting up a PIN to authorize voice purchases.

If you disable voice purchasing, you can still add items to your cart with voice commands, but you have to complete the transaction on Amazon's website.

How to Disable Voice Purchasing in Alexa

To disable shopping on Alexa devices using the Alexa app for iOS, Android, or Fire tablets:

  1. Launch the Alexa app and tap the Menu icon in the top-left corner.

    Alexa app with the menu icon highlighted

  2. Tap Settings.

    Alexa app with Settings highlighted

  3. Tap Account Settings.

    Alexa app with Account Settings highlighted

  4. Tap Voice Purchasing.

    Alexa Account settings with Voice Purchasing highlighted

  5. Tap the toggle beside Purchase by voice to change it to the off position. The toggle turns from blue to gray when voice purchasing is disabled.

    The toggle beside Purchase by voice highlighted

    Tap the toggle beside Voice code to create a PIN that must be spoken to authorize any voice purchases.

Voice purchasing options are account specific, not device specific. If you have multiple devices in your home, you must change the settings for all associated Amazon accounts.

How to Disable Voice Purchasing on Alexa in a Web Browser

You can also disable voice purchasing from the Amazon Alexa website:

  1. Go to alexa.amazon.com and log in to your Amazon account.

    Aalexa.amazon.com website login screen

  2. Select Settings in the left panel.

    Alexa website with Settings highlighted

  3. Select Voice Purchasing in the Alexa Account section.

    Voice Purchasing highlighted in the Alexa Account section

  4. Select the toggle beside Purchase by voice to change it to the off position. The toggle turns from blue to gray when voice purchasing is disabled.

    Alexa website showing the toggle next to Purchase by Voice

    Select the toggle beside Voice code to create a PIN that must be spoken to authorize any voice purchases.

How to Set Up a PIN for Alexa Voice Purchases

If you don't want to disable voice shopping altogether, it's possible to require a four-digit code to authorize Alexa purchases:

Voice codes are account specific, not device specific. If you have multiple devices in your home, you must create different codes for each associated Amazon account.

  1. Go to alexa.amazon.com in a web browser and log in to your Amazon account.

    Go to alexa.amazon.com and log in to your Amazon account.

  2. Select Settings in the left panel.

    Alexa website with Settings highlighted

  3. Select Voice Purchasing.

    Voice Purchasing highlighted in the Alexa Account section

  4. Select the toggle beside Voice Code to enable it to change it to the on position. The next time you try to make a purchase, Alexa will ask for your voice code.

    Optionally, you can select the toggle beside Enable recognized voice to skip giving the voice code if they have previously given it.

    The toggle beside Voice Code in the on position.
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