Owners of Echo smart speakers and Echo Show displays can no longer prevent their devices from transmitting all voice recordings to Amazon for analysis. This unsettling shift in Amazon’s privacy policy forces consumers into a difficult decision—either accept reduced privacy or stop using these devices altogether.
Local storage of voice recordings has long been a crucial privacy feature for voice assistants. Its removal raises serious concerns about what Amazon is capturing and processing. Even if you weren’t aware of these settings before, you might already be wary of voice assistant privacy. A CNET survey revealed that over 70% of people have concerns about integrating more AI into home assistants—fears that are now materializing.
Amazon has begun notifying Echo users via email that, unless they manually adjust their settings before March 28, their devices will default to a “Don’t save recordings” mode. However, voice commands will still be sent to Amazon’s cloud for processing before being deleted. This change appears to be in preparation for Amazon’s upcoming AI-powered upgrade to Alexa, called Alexa Plus. Notably, users will have no option to opt out of this new setting, even if they don’t intend to use Alexa Plus.
Below, we break down what this change means and what—if anything—you can do about it.
How Do These Alexa Voice-Recording Settings Work?
Amazon’s update impacts two specific Alexa privacy settings found within the Alexa app and Echo device settings:
“Do not send voice recordings”
“Do not save voice recordings”
As of today, the “Do not send voice recordings” option has been eliminated, meaning all recorded voice commands will be automatically transmitted to Amazon for processing and analysis. Additionally, changes to the “Do not save voice recordings” setting may limit Alexa’s functionality if users choose not to store recordings locally.
Is Amazon Listening to Everything I Say?
Anytime Alexa detects its wake word, the recorded interaction will be sent to Amazon’s cloud for processing. According to Amazon, this data will help train Alexa Plus to improve conversational abilities and accuracy. Unlike in the past, users are no longer given a choice in this matter.
Does this mean Amazon employees will be listening to your voice recordings?
That’s unclear. While modern processing typically doesn’t require human review, past reports suggest otherwise. In 2019, Amazon was found instructing employees to manually annotate certain Alexa recordings. Workers reportedly heard everything from mundane conversations to sensitive situations, including potential criminal activity. While manual review is inefficient at scale, Amazon has not provided clear assurances that human oversight won’t be involved.
Are Other Alexa Privacy Settings Changing?
For now, Amazon has only altered the “Do not send voice recordings” and “Do not save voice recordings” settings. Other privacy settings, such as permissions for Alexa Skills, have not been mentioned and should remain unchanged.
Why Is Amazon Making This Change?
The main driver behind this policy shift appears to be the rollout of Alexa Plus, Amazon’s premium AI-enhanced assistant launching this spring for $20 per month (free for Prime users). To maximize Alexa Plus’s effectiveness, Amazon needs access to as much voice data as possible.
In its notification to users, Amazon 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.”
In short, Amazon is prioritizing AI development over user control of voice data.
Is My Voice Data Secure?
Amazon claims that voice recordings are encrypted in transit to the cloud, but they are likely decrypted once they reach Amazon servers for processing. While breaches of Amazon’s internal systems are rare, past security lapses involving third-party data handlers—such as Capital One and Pegasus Airlines—raise concerns.
More directly, Amazon has previously mishandled voice data. In 2023, the company paid a $25 million fine for violating children’s privacy laws by retaining kids’ voice recordings instead of deleting them as required.
Can I Prevent Amazon from Storing My Voice Data?
While users can still enable the “Do not save voice recordings” setting, Amazon has warned that doing so will disable Voice ID—a feature that allows Alexa to recognize different household members and provide personalized responses.
Amazon appears to be using this limitation as a deterrent, encouraging users to keep voice recordings enabled for a better Alexa experience.
Is There Any Way to Keep Voice Recordings Private?
At this time, there is no known workaround to prevent Echo devices from transmitting voice recordings to Amazon. We’ll continue to test any potential methods as these changes roll out.
Does This Affect Non-English Speakers?
Since many non-English Alexa users never had access to the same privacy settings, they likely won’t see a significant difference in functionality.
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