Amazon has announced its Echo devices will no longer have the option to store and process requests on the device itself, meaning your voice recordings will now be sent to the cloud for processing.
In an email sent to customers, Amazon explained that the feature “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” will no longer be available beginning March 28, 2025.
The reason for this change? AI.
“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.”
Basically, the processing requests that rely on AI features can’t be done within the limited processing power of the Echo device itself. This means that voice recordings will be sent to and processed in the cloud.
Amazon promises the recordings will be deleted after Alexa processes your requests if you enable the “Don’t Save Recordings” setting (we recommend you do this). But is that promise enough? And what happens to the data before it’s deleted? After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Amazon’s Ring camera feeds were available for all staff and contractors to view.
This change confirms existing fears about user privacy with the implementation of the generative AI version of Alexa. Due to financial losses that came with Alexa’s operation, Amazon introduced the AI-powered Alexa+ which has far more capabilities and should generate more cash-flow. Alexa+ is based on several major language models such as the in-house development Nova, and Claude from Anthropic.
In a statement Amazon told TechCrunch:
“The Alexa experience is designed to protect our customers’ privacy and keep their data secure, and that’s not changing. We’re focusing on the privacy tools and controls that our customers use most and work well with generative AI experiences that rely on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud.”
This sounds reassuring, but something that doesn’t leave the device can’t get lost along the way. So, the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” sounds a lot safer to me.
Reportedly, the change specifically affects the fourth generation Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15 devices, for customers in the US with devices set to English.
When devices are too smart
I love gadgets as much as the next person, but with some devices I wonder whether it’s really necessary to make them “smart.”
The only way to protect your privacy and security at home is to avoid using devices that connect to the internet, including your phone. Obviously, in today’s world, that’s an impossible task for most. Therefore, the second-best option is to consider which devices are absolutely necessary for work, pleasure, and convenience, and slim down the list of smart-enabled devices.
For example, for an energy-conscious person, the use of a smart thermostat makes sense. However, we’ve seen plenty of devices that were only smart because it benefited the vendor. Data brokers will pay a pretty penny to those vendors if you install their app which gathers data about you and your device.
