Amazon to End Alexa Privacy Feature, All Voice Recordings to Be Processed in Cloud
The removal of the 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' feature supports the rollout of Alexa+, a generative AI assistant, but raises privacy concerns among users.
- Starting March 28, 2025, Alexa voice recordings will no longer be processed locally on select Echo devices and will instead be sent to Amazon's cloud for processing.
- The change is tied to the launch of Alexa+, a new AI-powered assistant offering advanced features like voice recognition and personalized responses.
- Amazon claims that voice recordings sent to the cloud will be encrypted and deleted after processing, but skepticism persists due to the company's history of data privacy controversies.
- The 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' feature was used by less than 0.03% of Echo users and was limited to specific devices and U.S. customers using English.
- Users have expressed concerns over privacy and potential loss of functionality, with some considering discontinuing their use of Echo devices.
Lifehacker 
