They are some of the most popular smart speakers.
But if you have an Amazon Echo, there’s bad news for you – as Amazon is about to controversially kill a popular privacy feature.
Until now, some Amazon Echo devices had the option to process commands locally ‘on-device’, keeping your voice within the confines of your home.
But from March 28, all Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers will send your voice recordings to the cloud.
Cory Doctorow, a blogger and expert on digital rights management, called it ‘absolutely unforgivable’ because it will let Amazon workers snoop on all Echo recordings.
Amazon has already received criticism for storing conversations users have with Alexa, which have been listened to and transcribed by staff, it admitted in 2019.
The tech giant was also fined $25million in 2023 for storing recordings of children’s interactions with Alexa.
‘Amazon says that the recordings your Echo will send to its data-centers will be deleted as soon as it’s been processed by the AI servers. Amazon’s made these claims before, and they were lies,’ Doctorow wrote in a blog post.
From March 28, Amazon’s Echo speakers will send your voice recordings to the cloud
‘Amazon eventually had to admit that its employees and a menagerie of overseas contractors were secretly given millions of recordings to listen to and make notes on.’
Amazon’s decision coincides with the release of Alexa+, the more powerful version of Amazon’s smart assistant powered by generative AI.
Amazon said it will ‘support the expanded capabilities of Alexa with generative AI’, which requires the ‘processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud’.
It revealed the change in an email sent to users who have the ‘Do Not Send Voice Recordings’ option enabled for its Echo devices.
‘We are reaching out to let you know that the Alexa feature ‘Do Not Send Voice Recordings’ that you enabled on your supported Echo device(s) will no longer be available beginning March 28, 2025,’ the Amazon email says.
‘This feature allowed compatible Echo devices to process the audio of Alexa requests locally on device,’ it continues.
‘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.’
If you have ‘Do Not Send Voice Recordings’ option turned on in the Alexa app, it will default to ‘Don’t save recordings’ on March 28, Amazon continued.
In February 2025, Amazon introduced Alexa+, the latest version of their voice assistant, powered by generative AI (file photo)
Alexa+ is Amazon’s personal AI assistant for its smart-speaker family, including its Echo and Echo Show speakers
This means voice recordings will be sent to and processed in the cloud before being ‘deleted after Alexa processes your requests’.
Someone posted an image of the email to Reddit with the caption ‘seems like now is the best time ever to switch to an alternative’.
One commentator replied in agreement: ‘Great opportunity to discontinue Amazon Alexa!’
The move has also gone down badly with many experts, with one saying an Amazon Echo device is ‘now a direct line to HQ’.
‘Just when I thought my three Alexa devices were my loyal, obedient servants, Amazon decides to flip the script,’ said Sayuj Nath, cloud specialist and consultant at Slalom.
‘Starting March 28, every word uttered to Alexa will be whisked away to Amazon’s cloud, all in the name of their shiny new generative AI, Alexa Plus.
‘Because who doesn’t want their casual chats about laundry detergent and nappy changes analyzed by a mega-corporation?’
Ludovic Dubot, CEO of software company XWiki SAS, said: ‘For any user who values (and trusted) this feature, the devices are as good as bricked.’
Packed with microphones, Alexa devices are designed to be ‘always-on’ and passively listen for their wake word (such as ‘Alexa’)
The Verge reports that on-device processing of voice recordings was only available on three Echo devices – Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15.
But the change is significant because it means all Amazon Echo voice recordings will be sent to the cloud from March 28.
It’s speculated that the date in less than two weeks’ time also marks when Alexa+ will start to become available, having been unveiled at a New York event last month.
Alexa+ will start rolling out in the US in the ‘next few weeks’, Amazon has said, and ‘subsequently in waves over the coming months’, with a UK release expected later in 2025.
Alexa+ – a rival to Apple’s ChatGPT-powered version of Siri – is free for subscribers to its Prime program but otherwise costs $19.99 (£15.42) per month.
‘Alexa+ is more conversational, smarter, personalized – and she helps you get things done,’ said Panos Panay, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon.
‘Whether you’re speaking in half-formed thoughts, using colloquial expressions, or exploring complex ideas, Alexa+ understands what you mean, and responds like a trusted assistant.
‘It feels less like interacting with technology, and more like engaging with an insightful friend.’
MailOnline has contacted an Amazon spokesperson for comment.
