Since Amazon announced the plan for the common version of AlexaWe have Take care of the user's privacy. With Alexa+ rolls out ARRIVE Amazon Echo device In the coming weeks, we will receive a clearer view of the privacy concessions that people will have to do to maximize the use of AI voice assistant and avoid brick function of the purchased devices.
In an email sent to customers today, Amazon said that Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to handle local Alexa requirements and thus avoid sending dialogues to Amazon's clouds. Amazon clearly email users with sound recordings that do not send dialogue on their echo. Starting from March 28, the recording of every command was told to Alexa living in Echo speakers and the smart screen will automatically be sent to Amazon and processed in the cloud.
Trying to rationalize the change, Amazon's email said: As we continue to expand Alexa's capabilities with the AI features based on the handling power of Amazon's safety cloud, we decided no longer support this feature.
One of Alexa +'s most marketed features is the ability to recognize the person who is talking to it, a feature called Alexa Voice ID. To suit this feature, Amazon is eliminating the ability to focus on privacy for all Echo users, even those who do not care about the Alexa version based on registration or want to use Alexa+ but are not able to recognize different voices.
However, there are many reasons people will not want Amazon to receive sound recordings about what they say to their personal devices. For one, the idea of a corporation can listen to personal requirements made in your home, simply unreliable.
Moreover, Amazon previously recorded Alexa recording. In 2023, Amazon agreed Pay $ 25 million In civil penalties for revelation that it has stored sound recordings of children's interactions with Alexa forever. Adults also do not feel the correct announcement about Amazon Towels to keep the Alexa records Unless reminded by 2019, five years after the first echo was released.
If it is not enough to prevent you from sharing the recording with Amazon, note that the company allows Staff to listen to Alexa recording. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that Amazon Staff listened Up to 1,000 audio samples in their nine -hour work shift. Amazon speak It allows employees to listen to Alexa recording to train voice recognition and natural language understanding systems.
Other reasons why people can hesitate to trust Amazon with personal voice patterns including the use of Alexa's voice records before. In criminal trials and Amazon Pay for settlement In 2023 related to allegations that they allow “thousands of employees and contractors to view video records of customers' private space” taken from the Ring camera, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Save the record or lose function
As if to find a way to overcome these concerns, Amazon said in his email today that by default, it will delete the records of the user's Alexa requirements after processing. However, anyone who has their Echo devices is placed into non -saved recording, will see the voice ID feature of the devices purchased. Voice ID Allow Alexa To do things such as sharing calendar events specified by users, reminders, music, etc. said “If you choose not to save any recording, the voice ID may not work.” Since March 28, Broken Voice ID is a guarantee for those who do not let Amazon store their recording.
Amazon's email said:
Amazon is forcing Echo users to make a few difficult decisions: grant Amazon access to the recording of everything you tell Alexa or stop using Echo; Let Amazon save the recording and ask the staff to listen to them or lose a feature set to become more advanced and the center of the next generation of Alexa.
However, Amazon is betting big that Alexa+ can dig the voice from the voice financial pit. Amazon has publicly committed to keeping Alexa's free version, but Alexa+ is considered the last hope of Amazon to keep Alexa live and profitable. Whatever Amazon can do to make people pay for Alexa is prioritized than other Alexa users' requirements, including, seemingly, privacy.
This story initially appeared on Ars Technica.