All Amazon Alexa Recordings will Now Go to the Cloud
Amazon Alexa users will no longer have the option to store and process voice recordings locally, as the company moves to exclusively process all requests in the cloud. The change, set to take effect on March 28, will apply to supported Echo devices, according to an email Amazon sent to customers.
Previously, users with select Echo models had the option to prevent their recordings from being sent to the cloud. However, Amazon has confirmed that the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” feature will be discontinued. The company attributes this decision to the recent launch of Alexa+, a generative AI-powered version of its virtual assistant that requires cloud-based processing. Alexa+ will be available at no additional cost to Prime members.
Amazon also stated that any previously saved voice recordings will be deleted after March 28. Users who disable voice recording storage will lose access to certain features, including Voice ID, which personalizes Alexa’s responses based on the speaker’s identity.
Local processing was only available on a limited number of devices, including the Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15, and only for U.S. users with their language set to English.
The change is likely to raise concerns among privacy-conscious users, given Amazon’s past controversies regarding Alexa recordings. In 2019, reports revealed that Amazon employed teams worldwide to review and transcribe user recordings to improve Alexa’s accuracy. The company has also faced scrutiny over law enforcement requests for access to stored recordings in criminal investigations.
In 2023, Amazon agreed to pay a $25 million fine after U.S. regulators found that it had retained recordings of children’s interactions with Alexa indefinitely without proper disclosure.
This latest shift reinforces Amazon’s reliance on cloud processing as it expands Alexa’s AI capabilities but may reignite privacy debates among its users.
