Amazon is pulling the plug on a key privacy feature for its Echo and Fire TV devices, ensuring that every command spoken to Alexa will soon be transmitted to the company’s cloud servers. The change, detailed in an email sent to customers on March 14, eliminates the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” option, which allowed some Echo devices to process requests locally without uploading audio to Amazon. Starting March 28, this shift will affect all Echo speakers, smart displays, and Fire TV units, aligning with the rollout of Alexa+, a generative AI-powered subscription assistant—and sparking fresh concerns over user privacy.
The decision ends a feature previously available on select Echo models and Fire TV models that let U.S. users keep their voice data on-device, sending only text transcripts to the cloud. Now, Amazon says the enhanced capabilities of Alexa+, including its advanced Voice ID feature for recognizing individual speakers, require the “processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud.” In its email, according to ARS Technica, the company explained: “As we continue to expand Alexa’s capabilities with generative AI features, we have decided to no longer support this feature.” The move extends to Fire TV devices with Alexa integration, meaning casual commands like “play my show” will also head to the cloud.
In 2023, the Amazon paid a $25 million penalty after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found it indefinitely stored children’s voice interactions, violating privacy laws. That same year, Amazon settled allegations that Ring camera footage—accessible to thousands of employees and contractors—compromised customers’ private spaces. Add to that 2019 reports from Bloomberg revealing employees listened to up to 1,000 Alexa clips per shift for training purposes, and the decision to mandate cloud uploads feels like salt in the wound.
For users, the stakes are high. Amazon insists recordings will be encrypted in transit and deleted after processing by default—unless users opt to save them for Voice ID functionality, which personalizes reminders, calendars, and music. But choosing “Don’t save recordings” will brick Voice ID on existing devices, a feature Amazon warns “may not work” without stored audio. “It’s a forced choice,” Kim noted. “Share everything with Amazon or lose what you paid for.” Criminal trials leveraging Alexa data and past breaches only deepen the distrust.
Amazon defends the shift as essential for Alexa+’s profitability, a $10/month upgrade it hopes will reverse years of financial losses—reportedly $25 billion since 2017. While a free Alexa tier remains, the company’s focus is clear: prioritize AI innovation over privacy concessions. Customers can tweak settings via the Alexa Privacy dashboard, but the “robust controls” touted in the email no longer include keeping audio off the cloud. As one Reddit user quipped, “Guess my Echo’s about to become a very expensive paperweight.”
With over 500 million Alexa devices sold globally, the March 28 deadline looms large, leaving users to weigh convenience against surveillance—or ditch Alexa altogether.
Please follow us on Facebook and X for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help. You can follow Luke on X HERE.