Will Alexa start spying on you? Everything you say to your Echo devices after March 28 will be sent to Amazon

Do you own an Amazon Alexa? The company has announced major changes to the security of these devices, limiting users’ ability to control their personal data.

Until March 28, Alexa owners can adjust their settings to prevent voice recordings from being sent to Amazon’s cloud. However, after that date, the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” setting will no longer be available, according to an email sent to customers.

Amazon explained that this change is part of its effort to “expand Alexa’s capabilities with generative AI features that rely on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud.” In other words, the company appears to be seeking more data to help train its AI models.

So far, Amazon has not made a public announcement about the change, but in the email, it reassured customers that their data would remain secure. However, many online have expressed skepticism about Amazon’s privacy commitments. Some users who previously avoided Alexa and Echo products due to privacy concerns say this change is reinforcing their decision, while others are now considering turning their devices off entirely.

A highly controversial decision

Many Echo device users have already expressed their dissatisfaction with this change to Alexa’s privacy policies, as they are uneasy about a company like Amazon potentially listening to every conversation they have with their devices at home.

It’s worth remembering that in 2023, Amazon was fined $25 million after it was revealed that the company had been storing voice recordings of children’s interactions with Alexa devices.

Additionally, in 2019, reports surfaced that Amazon employees had listened to up to 1,000 audio samples from customers to help train the company’s voice recognition and natural language processing systems. In an attempt to avoid further controversy, Amazon has stated that Alexa voice recordings will be deleted once they have been processed.

Even so, Amazon is now forcing Echo users to make a difficult choice: either allow the company to store recordings of everything they say to Alexa or stop using their devices altogether.

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