Amazon Echo users will no longer have the option to process Alexa requests locally, meaning all their voice recordings will be uploaded to the company's cloud servers.

According to a report by Ars Technica last Friday, Amazon sent an email to customers who had enabled the "Don't Send Voice Recordings" option on their Echo smart speakers and displays, informing them that support for this enhanced privacy feature would be discontinued starting March 28th.

"As we continue to expand Alexa's capabilities with generative AI features that rely on Amazon's secure cloud, we've decided to discontinue support for this feature," the email stated.

Currently, Amazon is rolling out a new version of its voice-controlled AI assistant, now called Alexa+. Consumers and regulators have previously raised concerns about Alexa's privacy practices, leading Amazon to agree to pay $25 million in 2023 to settle a Federal Trade Commission investigation related to children's privacy issues.