Amazon to Stop On-Device Processing of Alexa Voice Recordings
Amazon is making a significant change to how it handles voice recordings from its Echo devices, including smart speakers and displays. The company will no longer process user commands and voice recordings locally, instead sending them to the cloud for processing.
This policy change, which will take effect from March 28, 2025, was reported by ArsTechnica, based on information from an email Amazon sent to some Echo customers.
“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 [on-device processing] feature,”
Only users who have opted out of saving their voice recordings received this email.
Privacy Concerns
This updated policy has sparked privacy concerns among users. Some are worried that Amazon might have more access to personal requests made through their Echo devices. Amazon has stated that the changes are related to enhancing Alexa’s generative AI features, such as the new Alexa+ subscription.
Amazon maintains that user privacy is a priority.
“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. Customers can continue to choose from a robust set of tools and controls, including the option to not save their voice recordings at all. We’ll continue learning from customer feedback and building privacy features on their behalf,”
Alexa+ and Voice ID
This policy change could affect some features of the upcoming subscription-based version of Alexa, Alexa+. This version includes features like Alexa Voice ID, which enables the AI assistant to recognize different speakers. If users choose not to save voice recordings, however, Voice ID may not function properly.
Past Privacy Issues
Amazon has faced criticism regarding its handling of user voice data in the past.
- In 2019, it was reported that Amazon employees were listening to Alexa voice recordings to train its speech recognition and natural language understanding systems. Staffers listened to up to 1,000 audio samples during their shifts.
- In 2023, Amazon paid $25 million in civil penalties following a privacy lawsuit claiming the company stored children’s interactions with Alexa indefinitely.
- The company has been criticized for not adequately informing users about how their Alexa voice recordings might be stored.
These past issues have prompted users to be vigilant of the latest privacy changes.
