Why You Might Want to Delete Alexa Recordings

What is Alexa?

Alexa is the name of Amazon's virtual assistant developed for its Echo Dot smart speaker device. It is powered by artificial intelligence and voice recognition technology. The Echo Dot, often referred to as just "Alexa" is a small, compact speaker that can be placed in various rooms of your home or office.

It connects to the internet through Wi-Fi and allows you to interact with Alexa using voice commands. You can ask Alexa questions, request information, control smart home devices, play music, set alarms and timers, make calls, send messages, and much more.

The device features an array of built-in microphones that pick up your voice from across the room, even in noisy environments. When you say the "wake word" (which is usually "Alexa" by default but can be changed), the Echo Dot starts listening for your commands. You can then ask Alexa to perform a wide range of tasks and receive responses in a conversational manner.

How does Alexa work?

When “woken” up, Alexa will record your commands and send them to Amazon's servers. There, speech recognition and natural language processing algorithms analyze and interpret the request. Alexa then responds with the appropriate information or carries out the requested action.

The Echo Dot can also be paired with other smart devices in your home. With just a voice command you can control your smart lights, thermostats, cameras, and door locks. It can also be integrated with third-party services and apps allowing you to order food, get updates on the weather and news, order an Uber, play games, and more.

Is Alexa always listening?

The official Amazon answer is “No”, Alexa doesn't constantly listen to everything you say. While the Echo Dot does have an "always-on" feature, it only starts actively listening and processing commands when it detects the wake word. Until the wake word is detected, the device remains in a dormant state and does not record or transmit any audio.

When the wake word is detected, the Echo Dot starts recording and sends the audio to Amazon's servers for processing. Only the audio immediately following the wake word is recorded and sent, and not everything said before or after.

But is the official line of Amazon really true?

Examples of Alexa listening without permission

In 2018, a user from Portland, Oregon, discovered that her Alexa device had recorded a private conversation between her and her husband and sent it to a random contact in their address book, without their knowledge or consent.

The woman only became aware of the recording when she received a call from her husband's colleague warning her of a potential hack. She wasn't convinced until the colleague correctly mentioned the topic of their conversation. Amazon confirmed the incident and apologized, putting it down to an "extremely rare occurrence."

So, if Alexa isn't always listening, how did it happen?

Well, an update from the mega-company explained that the device mistook a word in the conversation for the wake word. This caused the device to start recording, and then it interpreted subsequent dialogue as a request to send the message to that particular contact.

Let's just get this clear...

Alexa had to, first, mishear the wake work, record, and then again, mishear another command to send the recording, and to mishear that named contact. Right.

Amazon claims that the incident merely shows a malfunction and is not evidence of constant surveillance. But can you trust a company that has patented “always listening” functionalities?

Amazon has previously patented algorithms that could potentially allow Alexa to analyze people's emotions from the tone of their voice and then target them with specific adverts according to their moods. If that's not invasive practice, then we don't know what is!

It's not the only incident either. And it gets worse...

In 2019, an investigation by The Sun newspaper in the UK, uncovered that Amazon staff in Bucharest, Romania, listened to Echo Dot recordings of British couples in their most intimate moments.

Amazon employees monitor and analyze Echo Dot recordings to improve the system. A former analyst revealed that during these tasks staff have heard all sorts — couples arguing, discussing private family matters, singing in the shower, and even having sex.

Although the recording clips don't provide full names, neither are they anonymized. They are connected to an account name, the user's first name, and a device serial number. Further reports also discovered that monitoring staff often have access to the user's location data— down to their exact address.

So, not only can the staff listen to your most private moments, they can connect them to you as an individual, and potentially where you live.

Of course, Amazon has been quick to point out that users consent to the recordings being monitored, as part of the Terms of Service. But the revelations in the reports clearly highlight the need for a clearer understanding of what “monitoring” constitutes and the privacy risks when using such devices.

What happens to Alexa recordings?

Your Alexa recordings, otherwise known as “interactions” are stored and monitored by Amazon staff. They use them to give context to demands and train the AI, all with the view to improving users' Echo Dot experience.

Here's what Amazon's Terms of Use have to say about it:

You can view them in full here.

Amazon staff can listen to up to a thousand recordings per shift. According to a report by Bloomberg, audio files are often shared between team members in internal chats for times when they need help deciphering words or if they simply find something amusing!

However, an Amazon spokesperson responded that only a fraction of Alexa voice recordings are annotated as part of the AI's training. But as a user, you'll never know if your voice recordings are used, shared, or laughed at.

How long are Alexa voice recordings kept?

It might (or might not) surprise you to hear that Amazon keeps Alexa voice recordings forever. That is unless the user actively deletes them. But even then, it's worth noting that deletion only removes voice recordings— the transcripts are retained on Amazon's cloud servers, with no way for users to delete them.

Amazon isn't the only one with the data either. Third-party services used with the Echo may also keep details of interactions. For example, if you used Alexa to order food or an Uber, or to make purchases, the third-party will still hold a record, even if you delete it from Amazon.

In June 2023, Amazon reached a $25 million settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding allegations that Alexa violated children's privacy rights. Amazon was accused of failing to delete Alexa recordings upon parents' requests and holding onto sensitive data for extended periods. Amazon denied violating the law but agreed to the settlement to “resolve the matter”. Or, in other words, to get the FTC off their backs.

Could someone else be listening to your Alexa recordings?

Technically, yes. Alexa has features, such as the Drop-In feature, that could potentially allow it to be used as a spying device. The communication feature kind of functions like an intercom system, enabling a two-way voice connection. It allows someone to instantly connect to an Echo device without the recipient having to “answer” a call.

But if the person “dopping in” doesn't make themselves known by speaking, the recipient might not even know they are there. The caller will be able to hear and see (depending on the Echo model) everything that's going on in that room.

Although the devices do light up and make a ring sound to notify those in the room that a drop-in session has been instigated, it could be easily missed in a busy or noisy room.

It doesn't mean that just anyone can simply “drop in” and listen in on whatever is happening in the room at any time. The device owner has to first enable the drop-in feature, and have given the person permission to “drop in”.

It's a handy feature for parents to check in on kids, or to speak to family members in another area of the house. But it can be utilized by abusive partners, or exes if the permission settings haven't been revoked.

If you're concerned that someone may have dropped in without your knowledge, you can check your device logs via the Alexa app under “Activity”.

How to delete your Alexa voice recordings?

Before we answer how to delete your Alexa voice recordings, we should mention that the Echo Dot does have a mute button that physically disconnects the microphones. This ensures that no audio is recorded or transmitted to the servers. When the microphone is muted, Alexa will not respond to voice commands until the mute button is turned off.

So, that's one way to protect your privacy. But, what about the stuff that is already recorded?

Here are the steps to delete all or some of your past recordings:

• Open the Alexa app
• Open the hamburger menu and select Settings
• Select Alexa Privacy
• Select Review Voice History
• Use the drop-down to select a date range or filter by device or voice ID
• Select the specific voice recordings you want to delete. Or delete all voice recordings for that date range, device, or voice ID.

You can also change the settings so that Alexa recordings are deleted automatically. Here's how:

• Open the Alexa app
• Open the hamburger menu and select Settings
• Select Alexa Privacy
• Select Manage Your Alexa Data
• Go to Automatically delete recordings, then select Off to enable the setting.
• Choose a time period to keep your voice recordings and then select Confirm.

Just note that it can take up to 36 hours for these settings to be applied.

Ready to delete your Alexa voice recordings?

While Amazon's Echo Dot with virtual assistant Alexa can add convenience, fun, and functionality for all the family and gadget enthusiasts, it's important to be aware of the risks to your privacy and that of your family.

Despite Amazon's claims of their dedication to user privacy, incidents have raised concerns about unauthorized recordings, access to personal information, and not following deletion requests.

To safeguard your privacy, consider taking steps to protect your data when using Alexa. You can mute the device when not in use or follow the provided steps in the Alexa app to delete your voice recordings or set it to automatically delete recordings.

Staying informed and taking proactive measures will mean you can still enjoy the benefits of smart home devices while safeguarding your personal information.

Of course, Alexa is just one smart home gadget that feeds into the Internet of Things. What type of privacy risks do the others present? Find out here: Internet of Things: Privacy at Risk