What Is Amazon's 'Alexa Guard' and How Does It Work?

Amazon Echo devices offer a feature called Alexa Guard that turns the voice assistant into a home security system of sorts. When turned on, it listens for and alerts you to suspicious sounds.

To set up Alexa Guard, navigate to the Settings menu in the Amazon Alexa app and Select Guard.

How Amazon Alexa Guard Works

Enable the feature by saying, "Alexa, I'm leaving." Your Alexa device responds, "OK, I'll be on guard," and switches to Away mode. This permits the device to listen for signs of an emergency, such as glass breaking, alarms, smoke detectors, crashes, and falls. If something happens, you'll receive an alert on your smartphone.

If you subscribe to a security service such as ADT or Ring, Alexa Guard can send alerts to those services so they can increase surveillance of your home. In an emergency, you'll need to contact help by calling 911 or requesting in-person assistance from your security service through their app.

Use Alexa Guard to Turn on the Lights When You're Away

If you use smart lights in your home, connect the lights to the Amazon Alexa app so that Alexa Guard can randomly turn the lights on and off. This makes your home look occupied to would-be intruders. Also, you can manage the lights remotely from the Alexa app.

How to Turn Off Alexa Guard

When you return home, turn off Alexa Guard by saying, "Alexa, I'm home." If you have home security hardware that works with Alexa, such as an Amazon Ring Alarm, you must enter the code to confirm your identity before Alexa Guard will disable.

Devices Compatible With Alexa Guard

Alexa Guard is available on Amazon Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers, and the Echo Plus smart home hub. The Echo Show smart display, Echo Spot mini smart display, and the Echo Input are also compatible with Alexa Guard and allow users to add Alexa features to other electronic devices.