Amazon Echo Will No Longer Support Local Voice Processing—All Recordings to Be Sent to the Cloud

Amazon Echo users will soon lose a key privacy feature as Alexa privacy settings undergo a major change. Starting March 28, all voice recordings from Echo devices will be sent to Amazon’s cloud, removing the option for local processing.

According to Ars Technica, Amazon recently notified users via email that the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” feature will be discontinued. This move is part of Amazon’s push to enhance Alexa’s AI capabilities, which rely on cloud computing for advanced voice recognition and AI-driven responses.

“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,” Amazon stated in the email.

Privacy Concerns Rise as Alexa Evolves

This decision comes amid growing privacy concerns surrounding voice assistants. Amazon Echo and Alexa privacy policies have previously been scrutinized, with Amazon paying a $25 million FTC settlement in 2023 over violations related to children’s voice data.

Now, with the launch of Alexa+, Amazon’s new AI-powered voice assistant, privacy advocates worry about increased data collection and potential misuse of personal voice recordings.

Consumers and regulators will likely keep a close eye on Amazon’s data policies as the company shifts toward cloud-exclusive voice processing. Whether users will accept this trade-off for improved AI-powered Alexa features remains to be seen.