The Amazon Echo continues to get new useful features, and one that was recently added is called Household Profiles. This will allow you to add other people in your home to the Echo so they can listen to their music or audiobook collection and more.
Before going any further, there is something quite important about this to note: When you add another person to Household Profiles, you are also authorizing the user to use the credit cards associated with your account. So, if you have an untrustworthy user, like your roommate, you’ll want to require a code to confirm purchases or turn off voice purchasing all together.
Add Voice Purchases Confirmation Code or Turn the Feature Off
To add a confirmation code for voice purchases open the Alexa app on your mobile device or use the Echo web interface. Then head to Settings > Voice Purchasing and enter in your secret four digit code and then save changes.
Or, if you want to be sure no one uses your credit card for purchases, just turn the feature off, which you can do from here, too.
Add a Household Profile to Amazon Echo
Once you have the security issue addressed, you can add someone to the Household. First, you need to make sure the person is there with you. Then from the Echo app go to Settings > Household profiles and sign in with your Amazon username and password. From there you just need to follow the onscreen instructions.
The person you’re adding will need to enter in their Amazon account credentials to verify their account.
Then verify they want to join the household.
Once they’ve joined, you can say: “Alexa, switch accounts” to switch between them. You can also say: “Alexa, which account is this?” That allows you to know which one is currently in use.
Now, each person can listen to what they’re interested in with a simple voice command. Not only is this handy for music and audiobooks, but the other person can access their Google calendar, hear their custom flash briefing, and more.
Remove User
If you want to remove a user, open the Alexa app and head to Settings > Manage Your Amazon Household and remove the person.
Amazon also notes: “When you remove an adult profile from a Household, you aren’t able to add both adult accounts to another Household for 180 days. If you remove an adult by accident and want to re-add the adult to your Household, please contact Amazon Echo Customer Support.”
This might seem like a small addition, but if you have two or more people wanting to use the Echo, it’s extremely convenient.
For more about the Amazon Echo smartspeaker, check out our archive of news and how-to guides.
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