Has your Echo Show ever randomly asked you whether you prefer summer or winter? Or ketchup vs. mayo? The questions show up as two images on the smart display that you have to decide between. Answer it, and you get the results from everyone else that participated.
Don’t worry, it’s not a sinister plan to gauge your love for ketchup. Meet Alexa Polls, a feature that Amazon quietly rolled out at the beginning of the year with zero fanfare. It appears not everyone got the questions immediately — a colleague at Cord Cutters News began seeing them just a few days ago.
Amazon said it was designed as a “fun way to entertain and engage” with users as the company looks to build a stronger bond between customers and its digital assistant. But the feature, which appeared unprompted and out the blue, could take some users aback.
The online retail giant said it doesn’t collect the data, and it’s only used to tabulate the results of the poll. But a spokeswoman said the company could use the customer responses to “deliver a more personalized experience” in the future. She added that the program has gotten positive feedback from users.
If you are receiving these questions, and want to turn them off, you can head to the Settings menu, then click on Home & Clock, then Home Content, and then turn off “Daily Settings.”