Alexa is approaching echo Everything you say to her to Amazon.
For a long time, Amazon Echo owners have had the option to process requests locally. This means that the information was not sent to Amazon's servers, but that option has disappeared since March 28th.
The company emailed customers to Echo to explain the changes.
“We are reaching out to inform you of “not sending audio recordings” that has been enabled on supported Echo devices since March 28, 2025,” the email reads.
“We have decided to no longer support this feature as we continue to expand Alexa's capabilities with its production AI capabilities that rely on the processing power of Amazon's Secure Cloud.”
Starting March 28th, audio recordings from Amazon Echo will be sent to the cloud and processed, but the email says that “it will be deleted after Alexa processes the request.”
However, the email also noted that if your Echo settings are set to “Do not save recordings”, the Voice ID will not work. According to Ars TechnicaVoice ID allows you to access more personalized features with Alexa, such as sharing user-specified calendar events, reminders, music, and more.
“Therefore, users will need to manually change their settings to maintain their functionality,” reported Ars Technica.
Essentially, everything that Amazon Echo told me on March 28th will be sent to Amazon's cloud, and using the settings to remove Amazon will reduce the functionality of features on your device that can be used by default at the time of purchase.
However, Amazon made it clear in the post that “not sending audio recordings” is an opt-in feature that is only available to US customers using devices set to English. They claimed that less than 0.03% of customers use this feature.
This feature is only available on three echo devices: Echo Dot (4th Generation), Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15.
“The Alexa Experience is designed to protect your privacy and keep your data safe, and that remains unchanged. Amazon spokesperson focuses on the generated AI experiences that rely on Amazon's secure cloud processing power and the privacy tools and controls that customers use most,” said an Amazon spokesman.
“Customers can continue to choose from a robust set of tools and controls, including the option of not storing audio recordings at all. We will continue to learn from customer feedback and build on behalf of our privacy features.”
The move comes just after the company's announcement of the new Alexa, in a complete AI overhaul called Alexa+.
Reddit Customers We were not satisfied with this announcement as many comments have expressed their disappointment.
“As a blind person, this makes me really try to be the ultimate in what I'm really angry because voice control in the app is particularly useful and important in terms of access,” one person wrote.
“Alexa is a game changer for Super ADHD households. I'm not really looking forward to dismantling it,” someone added.
“So I have to worry now that my echo records everything,” said another angry customer.
“I'm going to unplug my Alexa and smash it downstairs into the trash can!” commented one.
