In 10 days, Amazon Echo users will lose an option they might not have known that they had to process requests to the devices locally. That means that everything users say to the devices after March 28 will be sent to Amazon’s cloud.
“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,” said emails the company sent to users, as cited by Mashbale. “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.”
Mashable noted that this change comes just after Amazon announced its new Alexa+ subscription service with artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements. It will cost $19.99 per month but Amazon Prime members will get the service for free.
“Alexa+ will start rolling out in the U.S. in the next few weeks during an early access period, and subsequently in waves over the coming months,” Amazon said in a Feb. 26 press release.
Ars Technica reported that users who have the “Don’t save recordings” feature enabled will lose access to Alexa’s Voice ID feature after March 28. To use that functionality and its access to things such as calendar events, music preferences, and more, users will have to manually change that setting.
Mashable and Ars Technica said the tradeoff for losing the feature is that information can be used by Amazon and its employees to do as they please. Users have taken to social media to complain about the change.
According to USA Today, Amazon said that less than 0.03% of Echo owners opted to use the “Do not send voice recordings” feature. It has only been available to U.S. customers with services set to English through the Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10 and Echo Show 15 devices, per the company.
“The Alexa experience is designed to protect our customers’ privacy and keep their data secure, and that’s not changing," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet. “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.”