Data Privacy Concerns Emerge as Amazon Announces Plan to Discontinue Alexa’s Local Voice Recording
Weeks after launching the AI-enable version of its voice assistant, Amazon has discontinued Alexa voice recording. The company said it will not be processing user command and voice recordings for Echo devices locally, the Indian Express reported. Echo devices include smart displays and speakers.
Alexa Processing Changes
Instead of supporting local voice assistant data processing, Amazon will send and process voice recordings in the cloud. This shift in policy is set to take effect on March 28.
“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 [on-device processing] feature,” Amazon said in an email sent to Echo customers.
The company further explained what Amazon Echo cloud processing entails and how users can adjust controls.
“Alexa voice requests are always encrypted in transit to Amazon’s secure cloud, which was designed with layers of security protections to keep customer information safe. Customers can continue to choose from a robust set of controls by visiting the Alexa Privacy dashboard online or navigating to More on Alexa Privacy in the Alexa app,” it added.
Data Privacy Concerns
Amazon said that user recordings will be deleted automatically after processing. However, its updated policy continues to raise data privacy concerns as users feel uncomfortable with the company controlling their data as Amazon could access the requests they make in the confines of their homes through smart displays or Echo speakers.
“Just when I thought my three Alexa devices were my loyal, obedient servants, Amazon decides to flip the script,” Cloud Specialist and Consultant Sayuj Nath said.
But Amazon sought to array these concerns citing the privacy tools and controls it provides in its digital devices.
“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. Customers can continue to choose from a robust set of tools and controls, including the option to not save their voice recordings at all. We’ll continue learning from customer feedback and building privacy features on their behalf,” An Amazon spokesperson said.
Amazon plans to launch the subscription-based, AI-enabled Alexa+ in a few weeks. This latest version comes with new capabilities that include Alexa Voice ID that allows it to recognize user voice. With this feature, users can share specific reminders, calendar events, music, among others. Previously, Amazon said this feature may not work should users decide to save voice recordings.
A Tarnished Record
Amazon’s record on protection of user privacy has not been perfect. Employees at the tech giant previously listened to Alexa voice recordings to train the system to understand natural language and enable its speech recognition. According to a 2019 Bloomberg report, Amazon staff listened to over 1000 audio recordings during 9-hour shifts.
Amazon was also accused of failing to inform users that the company could store their voice recordings unless they specifically asked it not to do that. The tech giant paid $25 million in penalties in 2023. This happened after a privacy lawsuit that alleged the big tech stored voice recordings of children’s interactions with Alexa forever.
In the same year, the company’s Ring doorbell unit made a $5.8 million payment to settle a privacy violation matter with the Federal Trade Commission in the US. At the time, the FTC had accused the company of allowing thousands of its contractors and employers to view video recordings of images captured by its Ring cameras in private spaces of its customers.
