Amazon Echo Devices Will No Longer Process Voice Commands Locally
Requests will be sent straight to Amazon's cloud for processing
If you're an Amazon Echo user, you might want to start being a lot more careful about what you say around the device because starting March 28, Alexa will no longer process voice requests locally—everything you say will be sent straight to Amazon’s cloud.
So, if you liked the idea of keeping your voice commands private, that option is officially off the table.
Why the change? Well less than a month ago, Amazon introduced Alexa+, an AI-powered upgrade that promises a more advanced and human-like assistant to Echo devices. Since Alexa+ relies on cloud-based AI to process requests, Amazon says it’s necessary to route all voice recordings through its servers for Echo devices to be able to perform AI tasks.
Previously, users who enabled the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” setting could keep their requests off Amazon’s servers. Not anymore. Now, every time you ask Alexa to check the weather, play music, or set a reminder, your voice data gets sent to the cloud. Amazon insists it deletes recordings after processing, but given its track record—like when it paid $25 million to settle claims of failing to delete children's recordings, some users aren’t buying it.
This update also means saying goodbye to Voice ID unless you agree to store your recordings. Voice ID lets Alexa recognize who’s speaking and offers personalized responses—like playing your favourite playlist or giving you reminders. If you don’t want Amazon saving your voice, you’ll lose those perks. It’s a classic “take it or leave it” situation.
Other big tech competitors like Apple and Google still offer some level of local processing. Apple, in particular, has leaned into privacy by keeping more AI features on-device. That makes Amazon’s move feel like a step in the opposite direction, especially given its past privacy controversies.
At the end of the day, Amazon is betting that Alexa+ will be impressive enough to make users overlook these concerns. But for those who value privacy, as one Reddit user put it, this might be a ‘great opportunity to discontinue Amazon Alexa!’
Louis Eriakha
