All Alexa Voice Requests Will Soon Go Through Amazon Servers
Amazon is in the process of overhauling Alexa, introducing a new service called Alexa+ AI , which will be available free for Prime users (or $20 per month separately). But as the company plans to roll out this new service, user privacy on Echo devices is being called into question.
In an email dated March 15, Amazon announced that its Echo devices will no longer support local processing of Alexa requests and will no longer offer “Don’t send voice recordings” as an option. This means that every request – and its subsequent voice recording – will eventually end up in the Amazon cloud. Even a simple request like “turn off the lights” will be sent to Amazon. This change begins March 28 and includes all voice commands for Alexa on Echo speakers and smart displays.
Why is this happening?
According to an email from Amazon ( source: Ars Technica ), it all comes down to Alexa’s new generative AI features. In an email, Amazon says:
As we continue to expand Alexa’s capabilities with generative AI capabilities that rely on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud, we have decided to no longer support this feature.
The focus is on Amazon’s new Alexa Voice ID feature, which the company calls its flagship Alexa+ feature. This allows Alexa+ to recognize who is talking to it and respond accordingly. But even if you decide not to turn on Alexa+ or use Voice ID, Amazon will still refuse local processing.
Why is this a concern?
The move has raised many concerns about user privacy on Amazon devices. The idea that a major tech company can listen to every request coming through its devices at any time is not acceptable, especially when users have no choice in the matter.
There’s really not much Amazon Echo customers can do here other than sign out of Alexa. Of course, for many users, Alexa is an integral part of their smart home. The decision now is to continue using features that users have relied on for years, giving up privacy, or exit the ecosystem entirely.
Amazon says they will automatically delete records of all Alexa requests once processing is complete. In addition, Amazon assures users that all of their recordings are encrypted while being transferred to Amazon’s secure cloud servers. But given Amazon’s track record, it’s hard to trust their word.
Amazon has a history of mismanaging Alexa voice recordings. In 2023, Amazon paid $25 million in a case alleging that the company permanently stored recordings of children’s voices and gave employees access to that data, as well as footage from Ring cameras. That same year, reports revealed that Amazon was using real conversations in Alexa to train its AI (the one that now comes with Alexa+). The company has also admitted in the past to allowing its employees to eavesdrop on audio conversations .
The “Don’t save entries” feature is now much less useful.
Previously, users had the option to at least stop sharing their requests with Amazon servers (“Don’t send voice recordings”), as well as not saving them (“Don’t save recordings”). Now Amazon is actually removing that second option too if you want your device to perform as advertised.
By the way, the “Don’t save recordings” switch is also associated with the Voice ID feature. This is a feature that can determine who is making the request so Alexa can personalize its response accordingly. This way, your requests for calendar events, reminders, or music won’t interfere with anyone else’s requests in your home. This was already quite useful, and with Alexa+ it becomes even more important. The thing is, if you ask Alexa not to save your recordings, it will also automatically disable Voice ID and you will lose all user authentication features. Amazon previously warned that enabling this feature could affect Voice ID, but now essentially guarantees that it won’t work.
So your “choice” is not really a choice at all. You can either let Amazon process, store, and use your recordings as it sees fit, or you lose the Voice ID feature, limiting the usefulness of the product while sending your requests to Amazon’s servers.