Amazon Echo users will no longer have the option of processing their applications from Alexa locally, which means that all their voice recordings will be sent to the company’s cloud.
Ars Technica reports That on Friday, Amazon sent an email to customers who “do not send voice recordings” enabled on their echo speakers and smart screens, stating that the company would stop supporting the privacy improvement function on March 28.
“As we continue to expand Alexa’s capabilities with generative characteristics of AI that depend on the processing power of the Amazon secure cloud, we have already decided not to admit this function,” said the email.
This comes when Amazon is launching a new version of its voice controlled assistant, now known as Alexa+. Consumers and regulators have raised concerns about Alexa’s privacy implications in the past, and Amazon agrees to pay a $ 25 million agreement in 2023 with the Federal Commission for Commerce on Child Privacy.