Amazon is now sending recordings of conversations with Alexa to their servers.

Question

Amazon has now removed the "opt-out" option to not send conversations with Alexa to their servers.

Answer 1

This claim is true. According to PC Mag, after March 28, 2025, Amazon removed the "Do Not Save Voice Recordings" feature on all Echo devices which will then be sent to Amazon's cloud for processing. On Amazon's website under the Help & Customer tab, it says "When you speak to Alexa, a recording of what you ask Alexa is sent to Amazon's cloud, where we process your request and other information to respond to you. For example, when you ask, 'Alexa, play top hits on Amazon Music,' we use the recording of your request and information from Amazon Music to play top hits." Also on the website, Amazon has a total of eight Q&A styled questions regarding the device recordings.

Comments

This fact check is well-sourced. I appreciate your inclusion of information from Amazon itself. It would be interesting to find out why Amazon removed the opt-out feature, and whether there is still a way for users to delete recordings after the fact.

Answer 2

This claim is true, as it states on the Amazon website the abilities of Alexa. On the website, it states that "we use your Alexa interactions to help improve Alexa’s ability to understand and respond to natural language requests and to train Amazon’s machine learning models". While this doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad thing, as the company claims to be using the recordings for research and update purposes, it is still true that they are sending people's interactions with their Alexa to Amazon. 

Source:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GVP69FUJ48X9DK8V#:~:text=Our%20supervised%20learning%20process%20includes,.amazon.com/alexaprivacysettings. 

Answer 3

This claim is unfortunately true in October 25, Amazon confirmed that it will remove the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” option for certain Echo devices, a feature that previously allowed users to keep Alexa interactions from being uploaded to the cloud. According to The Verge, “Amazon is ending support for the ‘Do Not Send Voice Recordings’ setting on select Echo devices starting March 28, 2025.” Amazon stated that this decision is tied to its new generative-AI features for Alexa, which “require cloud computing power, making local processing insufficient,” (Associated Press, 2025). However, privacy experts have expressed concern that the change limits user control over personal data. As Tom’s Guide reported, removing the local-processing option means “users can no longer prevent their voice data from being sent to Amazon’s servers.” While Amazon says fewer than 0.03 percent of customers used the setting, critics argue that eliminating even a small privacy safeguard reduces transparency and consumer choice in how voice data is managed.

https://www.tomsguide.com/home/smart-home/amazon-is-removing-this-privacy-feature-from-its-echo-smart-speakers-on-march-28-what-you-need-to-know

https://www.theverge.com/news/630049/amazon-echo-discontinues-do-not-send-voice-recording-setting
 

https://apnews.com/article/amazon-privacy-echo-7fb3c19fa7f664bde5c5be259f8b23ee?

Answer 4

This claim is true. The articles I found have stated that owning an echo or Alexa device, starting march 28th, they have started to process your data and recordings and send them to Amazon for analysis. Amazon removed the privacy setting in their alexa. 

https://www.cnet.com/home/security/a-privacy-ultimatum-starts-today-let-amazon-echo-process-your-data-or-stop-using-it/ 

https://www.wired.com/story/everything-you-say-to-your-echo-will-be-sent-to-amazon-starting-march-28/

Answer 5

This claim is partially true yet exaggerated. In an article written by AP News they reframe this statement in a more factual light, “Amazon ends little-used privacy feature that let Echo users opt out of sending recordings to the company.” Thus changing the tone of the text from dramatic to informative.