Amazon is changing how it handles Alexa voice recordings. According to a recent report, Echo device users will no longer have the option to process their voice commands locally.
Instead, these recordings will be sent and processed on Amazon’s cloud. The updated policy will take effect starting March 28th.
An Amazon Echo Dot.
“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,” the company reportedly stated in an email to Echo customers. This change follows the unveiling of a revamped Alexa with generative AI capabilities.
As reported by ArsTechnica, the email notification about this change only went to users who had already enabled the ‘Do Not Send Voice Recordings’ option on their devices. Amazon maintains that Alexa voice requests are always encrypted on their way to the cloud. The company also says it’s designed with security layers intended to keep customer data safe.
“Customers can continue to choose from a robust set of controls by visiting the Alexa Privacy dashboard online or navigating to More > Alexa Privacy in the Alexa app,” the company added. Amazon also stated that it will automatically delete the recordings of users’ Alexa requests after they are processed.
The new policy raises potential privacy concerns. Some users may not want Amazon to have access to personal requests made through their Echo speakers or smart displays. However, Amazon insists that it is committed to safeguarding user privacy.
“The Alexa experience is designed to protect our customers’ privacy and keep their data secure, and that’s not changing,” a company spokesperson told The Verge. “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.”
The company is set to launch a subscription-based, generative AI version of Alexa, called Alexa+, in the coming weeks. This new version will introduce several capabilities, including Alexa Voice ID, which enables the AI assistant to recognize who is speaking. Alexa+ also offers the ability to share user-specified calendar events, reminders, and music. However, Amazon has previously said that VoiceID may not work if users choose not to save any voice recordings.
Amazon’s history includes past privacy issues, including allowing its employees to listen to Alexa voice recordings to improve speech recognition and natural language understanding systems. According to a 2019 Bloomberg report, these employees reviewed as many as 1,000 audio samples during their shifts. In addition, users have accused Amazon of not adequately informing them that their Alexa voice recordings could be stored unless they specifically opted out.
In 2023, Amazon was penalized with $25 million in civil penalties after a privacy lawsuit alleged that it stored children’s interactions with Alexa permanently. That same year, Amazon’s Ring doorbell unit settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy violations, paying $5.8 million. The FTC alleged that thousands of Amazon employees and contractors had access to video recordings from customers’ Ring cameras, which captured images of their private spaces.
