Amazon Echo customers in the United States now have access to a privacy feature previously only available on three Echo devices. However, the introduction of Alexa+, the AI version of the voice assistant, will make this option obsolete. Amazon recently released three Echo models with the intriguing feature of local speech recording processing limited to the US and English. This was an intriguing privacy innovation that saved customers from having to upload their recordings to Amazon’s cloud. Soon, that choice won’t be accessible.
The arrival of Amazon Echo will eliminate a secret feature in the U.S.
According to The Verge, the Echo Dot (4th Generation), Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15 were the devices that made this capability possible. These Amazon Echo family devices will no longer be able to process audio locally on the device as of March 28. As a result, every audio clip will be sent to their servers so that their cloud architecture can handle it. In a recent communication from Amazon, the company clarified that the change was brought about by Alexa+’s new use of AI models, as reported by Ars Technica. They specifically guarantee that they have decided to stop supporting this capability as we continue to add generative AI features to Alexa that depend on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud.
This move is supported by the introduction of Alexa+, the updated voice assistant that will now use AI models. The company claims that processing these models requires the capacity of Amazon’s cloud, which precludes local processing of requests as was previously the case. Additionally, the new AI system that will control these devices will have more sophisticated features to identify the user’s voice, allowing it to reply more precisely and contextually. The business calls this technology Voice ID. Since many users of these models probably weren’t even aware that such a privacy option existed, this feature requires Amazon to remove the privacy feature that was previously in place, although in a very restricted form.
Echo users will be unable to avoid this new feature even if they don’t use Alexa+
Even if users of these devices choose not to use Alexa+, they will still be unable to avoid sharing audio snippets because Amazon will send these audio even if they choose not to use the AI-enabled service. The Amazon Prime membership will include the AI-model-based Alexa+ service. In addition to that unique feature, the Amazon Echo family devices let you manage privacy settings, including how long recordings are kept on your servers. However, it was made public in April 2019 that Amazon staff members had listened to the recordings under the pretext of enhancing the service.
That sparked debate, and when Alexa started speaking Spanish, they were already dealing with privacy concerns. Lastly, Amazon pledges to ensure that information with voice commands from Alexa is always transmitted encrypted to Amazon’s secure cloud, which was built with multiple security layers to protect consumer data. They also note that several controls will remain in place to improve this method of handling user data.
When will the new device arrive for users in the US?
Amazon has stated that Echo users would no longer be able to execute Alexa queries locally while avoiding uploading voice recordings to Amazon’s cloud. Beginning March 28, recordings of every Alexa order given through Echo speakers and smart displays will be automatically uploaded to Amazon and processed in the cloud. This modification is compatible with Echo (4th Gen), Echo Show 15, and Echo Show 10. Alexa+’s more sophisticated voice recognition capability, called Alexa Voice ID, is one of its most advertised benefits. Amazon is removing a privacy-focused feature for all Echo users to make room for this function, including those who dislike the subscription-based Alexa or who wish to use Alexa+ but do not want to use its speech recognition capabilities.
