The best Alexa-friendly smart home devices of 2021

Amazon Echo speakers and smart displays, like the Echo Show 5 (pictured), come with a sliding mic mute button that prevents Alexa from listening. Privacy might seem like a thing of the past, as everywhere you go, there's some computer watching or listening. But in your own home, you can do a few things to protect your privacy, even from naturally invasive Alexa-friendly smart home devices. Amazon reviews voice recordings, including the wake word and voice command that follows, in an effort to improve the overall user experience. However, you can opt-out of having your voice recordings included in the review process by going to Settings Alexa Privacy Manage Your Alexa Data, then toggling off the setting that says Use Voice Recordings to Improve Amazon Services.