This means you can use the Alexa app to call your own Echo Show. For many people, I expect the most likely person they’d give drop in access to is themselves.Īmazon’s new Alexa-based calling and messaging service allows you to start conversations with yourself. If you can’t think of anyone you would want to give automatic access to a live video feed of the inside of your house, you’re probably wondering why this feature even exists. Remember, the receiver of a drop in call has to have granted the caller the ability to initiate an auto-answer drop in call ahead of time, so you’re probably not going to have many, if any, contacts with this privilege. The receiver of a drop in call has 10 seconds, while their camera feed is blurred, to either end the call, disable their video to have a voice-only call, or do nothing to automatically accept the video call. After 10 seconds, the receiver’s camera preview will go clear, indicating the caller can now see them. On the receiving end of a drop in call, the Echo Show will immediately show a clear video feed of the person who is calling, along with a small preview of the frosted glass feed that the receiver’s camera is currently transmitting back to the caller. Reciever’s view during first 10 seconds of a drop in call After 10 seconds, if the receiver does nothing, the blurred out view of the camera will automatically be replaced with a clear view. ” If the person you are calling has explicitly given you drop in privileges ahead of time, you will immediately see a “frosted glass” view of the camera on the device you’re dropping in on. To initiate a drop in call, you have to say “ Alexa, drop in on ,” as opposed to just requesting a regular video call by saying “ Alexa, call. This lets those who are allowed to drop in know that you are around, so they aren’t constantly calling into an empty room/house.Ĭaller’s view during first 10 seconds of a drop in call Recently active contacts who have given you drop in privileges will be listed on the Echo Show’s idle screen. On the surface this might sound like a horrible feature that you’d never imagine wanting to use, which is why it’s important to understand exactly how it works and why it’s available in the first place.Ĭontacts who you’ve explicitly given drop in access to your Echo Show will be able to see if you’ve been “recently active.” It’s not clear what defines being “recently active,” but presumably it means you’ve recently used your Echo Show, or are currently using it, like listening to music. This means that anyone on your drop in white list can see your Echo Show’s camera video feed whenever they want. The Echo Show’s drop in feature enables you, the device owner, to optionally allow specific contacts the ability to start a video call without you having to accept/answer the call. Here’s exactly how the drop in feature works and how to use it without compromising your privacy. One of the more ambiguous features of the new Amazon Echo Show that was revealed this morning is a feature of the device’s video calling capabilities called “Drop In.” If not understood, it can easily be misinterpreted as an invasion of privacy, but if used correctly, it gives the Echo Show several additional use cases.
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