Amazon Removes Echo Privacy Setting, Forcing Alexa Requests to Cloud

Amazon Removes Echo Privacy Setting, Forcing Alexa Requests to Cloud

Amazon has announced a controversial change to its Echo devices, removing a privacy feature that allowed users to prevent their Alexa voice requests from being sent to the company’s cloud servers. This decision, set to take effect on March 28, 2025, has sparked a debate over user privacy, data security, and AI development. Currently, Echo devices offer an opt-in privacy setting called “Do Not Send Voice Recordings,” which ensures that voice requests are processed locally and never reach Amazon’s cloud infrastructure. However, this feature is now being discontinued and replaced with a new setting called “Don’t Save Recordings.” While this … Read more

Amazon Echo Will Send All Voice Recordings to Cloud Starting March 28

Amazon Echo Will Send All Voice Recordings to Cloud Starting March 28

Amazon has announced a significant change to how its Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays process voice recordings. Starting March 28, all Alexa voice requests will be sent to Amazon’s cloud, eliminating the option for local processing. This decision, which Amazon attributes to the expansion of generative AI features, has sparked fresh concerns about user privacy, data security, and regulatory compliance. For years, Amazon offered users an option called “Do Not Send Voice Recordings”, which prevented their Echo devices from transmitting voice data to the cloud. However, in an email sent to affected users, the company confirmed that this privacy-enhancing … Read more