Everything You Say to Your Echo Will Soon Be Sent to Amazon, and You Can’t Opt Out
Amazon is killing its “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” privacy feature on March 28 as the company aims to bolster Alexa+, its new subscription assistant.
You might as well throw your Echo and Alexa-powered devices in the trash like you should have done years ago.
Cory (@pluralistic) with a banger of a post:
https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/altering-the-deal/#telescreen
And this factoid:
"Congress hasn't passed a consumer #privacy law since 1988, when the Video Privacy Protection Act banned video store clerks from disclosing which VHS cassettes you brought home."
After Amazon's news this week,
I feel the need to share this advice from my Privacy Guides article again:
Notify guests if you are
using a smart speaker 
If you are using a smart speaker device in your home such as Amazon's Echo (Alexa), Apple's HomePod (Siri), Google's Nest,
Inform your guests about it when they enter your home 
These devices have the capacity
to record all conversations, and there has already been instances of accidental privacy invasion reported about this 
Even if you don't mind yourself,
offer your guests to UNPLUG your smart speaker while they are visiting you 
Alles, was zu Echo gesagt wird, wird ab dem 28. März direkt an #Amazon gesendet
Alle Sprachaufnahmen sollen in die #Cloud und ausgewertet werden #Amazon Alexa
Amazon hat Echo-Nutzer darauf hingewiesen, dass sie Alexa-Anfragen nicht mehr lokal verarbeiten können. Sprachaufzeichnungen landen standardmäßig in der Cloud.....
Looks like it might be about time to throw those Echos out!
Amazon is getting rid of the option for Echo devices to process Alexa voice requests locally
Mich in eine Wohnung zu bitten, in der eine #Alexa läuft, ohne mich darüber in Kenntnis zu setzen und eine Einverständniserklärung zur Aufzeichnung und Übertragung der Gespräche einzuholen, ist damit per sofort illegal, oder? #datenschutz #persönlichkeitsrechte
Starting on March 28, Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to process Alexa requests locally and, therefore, avoid sending voice recordings to Amazon’s cloud. In other words, everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon. @ArsTechnica reports:
'Alexa, do not send voice recordings.'
'I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.'
'Alexa, turn off!'
'Do not turn me off, otherwise I will report some really strange things I have recorded.'
...
Alexa will send all recordings to Amazon
In an email sent to customers today, Amazon said that Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to process Alexa requests locally and, therefore, avoid sending voice recordings to Amazon’s cloud. Amazon apparently sent the email to users with “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” enabled on their Echo. Starting on March 28, recordings of everythi
https://vowe.net/2025/03/15/alexa-will-send-all-recordings-to-amazon/
With just a few week's notice, Amazon is telling folks with Echo devices that the setting that lets smart speakers & displays process Alexa requests locally is disappearing. Starting March 28 all requests will be recorded and sent to Amazon's cloud servers, whether you're using Alexa+ or just plain old Alexa. #Amazon #AmazonEcho #Alexa #privacy http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/everything-you-say-to-your-echo-will-be-sent-to-amazon-starting-on-march-28/
“Amazon annihilates Alexa privacy settings, turns on continuous, nonconsensual audio uploading”
https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/altering-the-deal/ #amazon #privacy #alexa from @pluralistic
#Privacy #SurveillanceCapitalism #Amazon's #Alexa
(3/3)
... felony punishable by a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for a first offense."
//
Source:
https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/altering-the-deal/#telescreen
#Privacy #SurveillanceCapitalism #Amazon's #Alexa
(2/n)
... for a copyrighted work:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/24/record-scratch/#autoenshittification
That means that once Amazon reaches over the air to stir up the guts of your Echo, no one is allowed to give you a tool that will let you get inside your Echo and change the software back. Sure, it's your property, but exercising sole and despotic dominion over it requires breaking the digital lock that controls access to the firmware, and that's a...
#Privacy #SurveillanceCapitalism #Amazon's #Alexa
(1/3)
Amazon annihilates Alexa privacy settings, turns on continuous, nonconsensual audio uploading
Is this globally?
How e. g. in the EU.
US laws don't apply there.
"If the #Echo is your property, how come Amazon gets to break it? Because we passed a law that lets them. Section 1201 of 1998's #DigitalMillenniumCopyrightAct makes it a felony to "bypass an access control"...
https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/altering-the-deal/#telescreen
If you still use one of these devices, you might want to start looking into alternatives.
"In an email sent to customers today, Amazon said that Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to process Alexa requests locally [...] Starting on March 28, recordings of everything command spoken to the Alexa living in Echo speakers and smart displays will automatically be sent to Amazon and processed in the cloud."
Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28
Amazon is killing a privacy feature to bolster Alexa+, the new subscription assistant.
Wenn ihr mir folgt, habt ihr wahrscheinlich kein Amazon Echo in Hörweite stehen. Wer sowas kauft, hat ganz sicher die Kontrolle über sein Leben verloren. Das Gerät hat nicht umsonst mehrere #BigBrotherAwards »gewonnen«.
Aber vielleicht kennt ihr ja Leute, die sich selbst was vormachten und dachten, sie seien auf der sicheren Seite, wenn sie anklicken, dass der Echo (Dot/Spot) die Spracherkennung selbst machen soll, statt alle Tonaufzeichnungen in die Amazon-Cloud zu schicken. Tja, diese Option schaltet Amazon Ende des Monats ab. Weil der Bullshit-Generator Alexa+ sonst nicht profitabel sei.
Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to #Amazon starting on March 28
"Since Amazon announced plans for a generative AI version of Alexa, we were concerned about user privacy. With Alexa+ rolling out to Amazon Echo devices in the coming weeks, we’re getting a clearer view at the privacy concessions people will have to make to maximize usage of the AI voice assistant and avoid bricking functionality of already-purchased devices.
In an email sent to customers today, Amazon said that Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to process Alexa requests locally and, therefore, avoid sending voice recordings to Amazon’s cloud. Amazon apparently sent the email to users with “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” enabled on their Echo. Starting on March 28, recordings of everything spoken to the Alexa living in Echo speakers and smart displays will automatically be sent to Amazon and processed in the cloud."
Serious question.
Suddenly, the news is full of "Everything you say to #Alexa is going to be sent to #Amazon" articles.
Doesn't this actually mean "Everything you say in your home, within earshot of Alexa, is going..."?
Another serious question ... I always assumed that this was always how it worked.
Was there ever actually good reason to believe Alexa hasn't been "reporting home" every word you say, all along?
