How to turn Amazon ads off on Echo Show

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Wondering how to reduce the spam on your Echo Show? We have you covered

There are a number of advantages in choosing one of Amazon’s Echo displays over just an Echo speaker, from controlling smart home devices with touch rather than just your voice, to video calling other Alexa-enabled devices. There are also a couple of disadvantages though, one of which is shopping recommendations and adverts appearing on your Echo display’s rotating screensaver.

Don’t worry though, you can turn the Amazon adverts off and reduce the spam so that your Echo Show’s display can be left free for showing your photos or that recipe you’re cooking up for dinner. Here’s how to turn off Amazon ads and product recommendations off on your Echo Show, as well as adverts from Alexa Skills.

What you’ll need

• Your Amazon Echo Show
• The Alexa app
• Your smartphone or tablet

The short version

• Swipe down from the top of your Echo Show.
• Tap on the Settings icon.
• Tap on ‘Home & Clock’.
• Tap on ‘Home Content’.
• Toggle off the options you don’t want to see appear on Echo Show screen.

Your Echo Show will serve up a multitude of useful information and while there are a few that are a little spammy, there are some you might find useful. You might not want to disable ‘Communication’ for example, as this will show calling, messaging and announcements. You may also want to keep ‘Drop In’ switched on and ‘Fun with Alexa’ as both of these add to the experience rather than take away from it. 

If you want to reduce adverts however, there are a couple worth turning off. These include ‘Shopping Inspiration’, ‘Shopping Recommendations’ and ‘Your Frequent Orders’. Shopping Inspiration will show you adverts for popular products on Amazon, while Shopping Recommendations are more personalised based on what you have previously bought from the online superstore. Frequent Orders meanwhile, will show you things you may want to buy again and they are based on things you buy more regularly – loo roll for example.

If you toggle off all the Home Content, your Echo Show will only serve up your photos and display a clock, but as we said, there are a couple of things that are useful so make sure you read each option properly before just turning everything off. 

That’s it! The Amazon adverts on your Echo Show display should now be reduced a little, though there are a couple of extra things you can do to reduce interruptions more when it comes to third-party services. Interest-based ads across Echo devices, including the Echo Show, are controlled via the advertising preferences on your Alexa account. You can adjust these preferences using your Echo Show, or the Alexa app.

For the Echo Show, swipe down from the top, tap on settings and then select ‘Alexa Privacy’. You’ll need to verify your account, after which you will see another screen. On the left edge, you’ll see ‘Manage skill permissions and ad preferences’. Tap on that, scroll down and toggle off ‘Receive interest-based ads from third-party skills and content providers on Alexa’.

Using the Alexa app, tap on the ‘More’ tab in the bottom right. You’ll then want to tap on Settings, followed by ‘Alexa Privacy’ and then ‘Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences’. Scroll until you see ‘Interest-Based Ads from third parties’ and then toggle off ‘Receive Interest-based ads from third-party skills and content providers on Alexa’.