How do I delete my voice recordings from Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft?

To delete voice recordings, use the history or privacy page of each company, because each keeps its copies in a different place. Apple keeps Siri and Dictation history on a random identifier, Microsoft keeps voice data on your privacy dashboard, and Amazon keeps Alexa recordings in your Alexa privacy settings. Deleting the history removes the past, but it does not change whether new audio is saved. For that you need the separate setting.

We could not open Google's current help page while writing this, so this answer gives no Google menu steps. Use Google's own help page for those, and see the question on whether Google keeps your voice recordings.

Apple: delete Siri and Dictation history while you are online

On a Mac running macOS Tahoe 26, Apple's steps end with a Delete Siri & Dictation History button and a second click on Delete to confirm ¹. The steps start in System Settings, in the Siri section of the sidebar. On macOS Sonoma 14 the steps start from Siri & Spotlight in the sidebar.

Two limits apply. A Mac must be connected to the internet to delete Siri and Dictation history ², so run the steps while you are online. Apple's Mac help also says the deletion covers request history, both audio recordings and transcripts, that is less than six months old ³. Older history may not appear in that list.

The same history exists on iPhone and iPad. We could not open Apple's iPhone steps while writing this, so check the menu on your own device rather than trusting the Mac path.

Microsoft: clear the privacy dashboard, and know what stays

Microsoft keeps voice data you have given it on your privacy dashboard, which you open from your Microsoft account. Microsoft says that clearing your voice activity will remove your audio recordings but may not remove all information associated with that activity ⁴. So a cleared dashboard is not proof that nothing remains.

The dashboard also shows only part of the picture. Voice clips stored by Microsoft's speech technologies are no longer associated with your account, so new voice data does not appear there. Data collected before October 30, 2020 still shows on the dashboard for as long as Microsoft keeps it ⁵. Check the dashboard once, clear what appears, and then check the Windows speech setting for future collection.

Amazon: decide whether Alexa saves recordings at all

Amazon's approach is a setting first. If you choose not to save your voice recordings, they are deleted automatically after Alexa processes each request, and Amazon says previously saved recordings are deleted too ⁶. If you want to keep saving them, you can choose automatic deletion on an ongoing three-month or 18-month basis ⁷.

Find these controls in your Alexa privacy settings. The question on whether Alexa stores voice recordings covers what Amazon keeps once a recording exists.

Google: check the setting before you delete

Google's voice and audio activity setting is off unless you choose to turn it on ⁸. Check whether it is on in your Google account. If it is, switch it off before you clear old recordings, so that new audio is not saved while you work through the old.

Deleting history does not stop future saving

These are two separate controls. Deleting history removes what is already stored, and the setting decides what is saved next. For Apple that setting is Improve Siri and Dictation, which is covered in the glossary entry on that setting. Then check the speech setting on your platform, because it decides what is collected from now on.

A short routine for each company

1. Turn off the setting that saves or shares new audio.
2. Open the company's history or privacy page and delete the recordings you see.
3. Check whether any older items remain, and repeat the step for each device or account you use.
4. Write down the date and the setting you changed, so you can check again after the next system update.

If you dictate client, patient or other regulated content, deleting history is not the whole answer. The guide to HIPAA-compliant dictation covers the agreements that matter there. For the general test that shows where recognition runs, see the guide to whether voice to text is safe. The glossary entry on cloud dictation explains why server-side copies exist in the first place.