Amazon Alexa to process voice recordings on cloud: What it means for users

Starting March 28, Amazon Echo users will not have the option to store their voice recordings of conversations with Alexa locally. The company will process every request on cloud only

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Amazon is ending the option to process Alexa voice recordings on Echo locally, meaning that the recordings of users’ voice commands (with the exception of certain Alexa features like wake word detection) will be sent to Amazon’s cloud for processing from March 28. This development might raise privacy concerns among users as seen in the past.

 

According to a report by Ars Technica, Amazon in an email to its consumers who have “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” enabled on their Echo smart speakers and displays (specifically the fourth generation Echo Dot, Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15), it stated that the company would stop supporting the privacy-enhancing feature on March 28.

 

As per the report, the email read. “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 is introducing Alexa+, a revamped version of its voice-controlled AI assistant. However, concerns over privacy remain, as both regulators and consumers have previously scrutinised Alexa’s data practices. News platform TechCrunch has reported that Amazon in 2023 settled with the Federal Trade Commission for $25 million following allegations of mishandling children’s privacy.

 

As per reports, once the local storage is removed, users will still have the choice to delete the recordings once Alexa processes it on cloud.

 

According to a report by TechCrunch, Amazon while talking about this said, “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.”