Amazon has announced a significant policy change regarding the processing of Alexa voice recordings on Echo devices. Effective March 28, 2025, all Alexa voice recordings will be processed exclusively in Amazon’s cloud, eliminating the current option for local processing. The decision, communicated to Echo users via email, has sparked privacy concerns given Amazon’s past regulatory scrutiny and data-handling practices.
According to a report by Ars Technica, Amazon has informed customers who had previously enabled the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” option that this feature will be discontinued. The company justified the move by citing the increasing reliance on cloud-based generative AI to expand Alexa’s capabilities. The email notification stated, “As we continue to expand Alexa’s capabilities with generative AI features that rely on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud, we have decided to no longer support this feature.” Amazon assured users that voice recordings would be deleted after processing and reiterated that customers would still have the option to prevent recordings from being saved.
This shift coincides with the anticipated launch of Alexa+, a subscription-based AI assistant featuring advanced generative AI capabilities. Among its enhancements is Voice ID, a feature designed to recognize individual speakers and provide personalized responses. However, Amazon clarified that Voice ID functionality will be unavailable for users who opt not to save their voice recordings.
An Amazon spokesperson emphasized the company’s commitment to privacy, stating to The Verge, “The Alexa experience is designed to protect our customers’ privacy and keep their data secure, and that’s not changing. We’re focusing on the privacy tools and controls that our customers use most and work well with generative AI experiences that rely on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud.”
Despite these assurances, concerns about Amazon’s handling of user data persist. In 2023, Amazon reached a $25 million settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of mishandling children’s privacy. The company also agreed to a $5.8 million settlement following claims that its Ring doorbell cameras had been misused for unauthorized surveillance. Additionally, a 2019 Bloomberg report revealed that Amazon employees were permitted to listen to up to 1,000 Alexa voice recordings per nine-hour shift to enhance speech recognition and natural language understanding.
Amazon clarified that the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” feature was only available to U.S. customers using Echo devices set to English and noted that fewer than 0.03% of its customers had activated the feature. The company reassured users that they would continue to have control over their data preferences through the Alexa Privacy dashboard or the Alexa app.
As Amazon advances its AI-driven initiatives, this policy change underscores the ongoing tension between technological innovation and user privacy, prompting customers to reassess their data security preferences when using voice assistants.
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