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Amazon: disables local processing of Alexa voice requests today

As an Amazon Echo customer, you may have had access to an option that processed your voice input locally on the device instead of on Amazon servers. Echo customers had to enable the feature manually to take advantage of it.

A text transcript would then be transmitted to the cloud so that the server-side processing of Alexa could respond to the query. The option would not prevent all ways of sending audio data to Alexa. For instance, it did not prevent users from sending voice messages to someone else.

Amazon will remove the option from compatible Echo devices starting today. This means that voice commands will be transmitted to Amazon servers for processing, even if the option to process voice commands locally was enabled previously.

Amazon will set the new default to "Don't save recordings". While that won't prevent the server-side processing, it ensures that voice data is deleted after it has been processed by Alexa according to Amazon.

Downside here is that some Alexa features, like the ability to distinguish voices, won't be available anymore.

Amazon reasons in the notification that new AI features require the cloud. While not specifically mentioned, it is likely hinting at the upcoming Alexa+ AI features Amazon is working on.

Here is Amazon's message to affected Echo customers:

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 28th, 2025. This feature allowed compatible Echo devices to process the audio of Alexa requests locally on device. As we continue to expand Alexa’s capabilities with generative AI features that rely on the preceding power of Amazon’s secure cloud, we have decided to no longer support this feature.

If you do not take action, your Alexa Settings will automatically be updated to “Don’t save recordings.” This means that, starting on March 28th, your voice recordings will be sent to and processed in the cloud, and they will be deleted after Alexa processes your requests. Any previously saved voice recordings will also be deleted. If your voice recordings setting is updated to “Don’t save recordings,” voice ID will not work and you will not be able to create a voice ID for individual users to access more personalized features.

It is important to note that only a handful of Echo devices supported the feature. According to Amazon, these were the 4th. generation Echo Dot, and the Echo Show 10 and 15. The feature was also only available for users in the United States who set the device language to English.

While that certainly limits the number of affected users, it certainly won't sit well with users who do not want their voice data transmitted to the cloud.

Whereas other companies launch on-device processing features, it appears that Amazon has decided to focus solely on the cloud.

 Now You: do you own devices like Amazon's Echo? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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