Amazon is making changes to its Alexa Guard features, moving some of them behind a paywall. Alexa Guard is a security feature included with Echo devices, but the company is discontinuing some aspects of the free service.
Changes to Alexa Guard Features
While certain Alexa Guard features will remain free for all users, such as Home and Away modes (for arming and disarming a Ring Alarm system) and Away Lighting, others will require a subscription to the new Emergency Assist service. The paywalled features include smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarm detection and sound recognition for breaking glass, which could indicate a possible intruder.
Transitional Offer for Ring Protect Pro Members
Ring Protect Pro members who linked their Ring and Alexa accounts as of September 20 will receive an Alexa Emergency Assist membership at no extra cost until October 31 next year. However, Guard Plus, which previously added extra features to Alexa Guard for a monthly or annual fee, is no longer available for purchase and was included with a Ring Protect Pro plan.
Cost of Alexa Emergency Assist
Alexa Emergency Assist currently costs $6 per month or $59 per year, but this is an introductory price that will remain valid for everyone until January 8. After that date, non-Prime subscribers may need to pay extra for Emergency Assist. The service allows users to call emergency services using voice commands through an Echo device.
