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#AmazonEcho

3 posts3 participants0 posts today

I have a bunch of Amazon customer surveillance devices at home, i.e. echo dots. While they offer some value and I've taken steps to mitigate some of their downsides, It's time to look for a local, FOSS based replacement.

I have the tech background to deal with the quirks of most of these projects. Anyone have thoughts on which projects I should look into? Just need basic functions like setting kitchen timers and controlling lights.

Continued thread

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.....

heise.de/news/Amazon-Alexa-All

heise online · Amazon Alexa: Alle Sprachaufnahmen sollen in die Cloud und ausgewertet werdenBy Stefan Krempl

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 arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0

In this photo illustration, Echo Dot smart speaker with working Alexa with blue light ring seen displayed.
Ars Technica · Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28By Scharon Harding

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."

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0

via mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11416699

In this photo illustration, Echo Dot smart speaker with working Alexa with blue light ring seen displayed.
Ars Technica · Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28By Scharon Harding

"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 command spoken to the Alexa living in Echo speakers and smart displays will automatically be sent to Amazon and processed in the cloud."

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0

In this photo illustration, Echo Dot smart speaker with working Alexa with blue light ring seen displayed.
Ars Technica · Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28By Scharon Harding
#Amazon#Alexa#AI

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.

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0

In this photo illustration, Echo Dot smart speaker with working Alexa with blue light ring seen displayed.
Ars Technica · Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28By Scharon Harding
Continued thread

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."

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0

In this photo illustration, Echo Dot smart speaker with working Alexa with blue light ring seen displayed.
Ars Technica · Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28By Scharon Harding