Amazon Alexa & Echo
What the default settings do
An Echo listens on the device for its wake word (“Alexa”, “Echo”, “Computer” and so on). Amazon says no audio is stored or sent to the cloud until the device hears the wake word or you press the action button. What you say after that goes to Amazon’s cloud to be processed.
Since 28 March 2025, that is true for every request on every Echo. Amazon removed the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” option that let a few models (4th-gen Echo Dot, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15) handle simple requests on the device. Amazon said the change was needed for its new generative AI features.
Alexa+ in 2026
Alexa+, the new AI version of Alexa, became available to everyone in the US on 4 February 2026. It is included with Prime; without Prime it costs $19.99 a month, with limited free use in the Alexa app and on the web. In the UK it opened to all customers as early access on 19 March 2026. Two things change for privacy:
- Follow-Up Mode is switched on for your compatible Echo devices and the Alexa app when you join Alexa+. Alexa then keeps listening briefly after it answers, so you can carry on without repeating the wake word. It stays on even if you later leave Alexa+.
- Your history is now organized into chats that group related requests, and Amazon keeps text transcripts and typed requests alongside voice recordings. Each has its own retention rules, described below.
By default, Amazon keeps voice recordings until you delete them, and a very small sample can be reviewed by people to improve Alexa. Amazon Sidewalk, a low-bandwidth network shared with nearby Amazon devices, is on by default on compatible Echo models. Account-wide Amazon settings are covered in the Amazon account guide.
A reasonable privacy baseline
Most of these settings are in the Alexa app under More → Alexa Privacy. Some versions of the app show it as More → Settings → Alexa Privacy. You can also go to amazon.com/alexaprivacysettings in a browser.
Voice recordings and transcripts
Alexa app → More → Alexa Privacy → Manage Your Alexa Data → Choose how long to save recordings → Save for 3 months or Don't save
The choices are until you delete them, 18 months, 3 months, or don't save. With Don't save, Amazon deletes each recording after processing it and deletes the recordings already stored. Transcripts and typed requests are still kept until a chat has been inactive for 30 days. Amazon says the setting can take up to 36 hours to apply. Important: choosing Don't save also deletes your Voice IDs, so Alexa will no longer recognize who is speaking.
Alexa app → More → Alexa Privacy → Review Voice History → Delete past chats
Filter by date, device or profile and delete what is already stored. Amazon notes it may keep other records of what Alexa did, such as reminders you set or orders you placed, so you can keep using them.
Human review
Alexa app → More → Alexa Privacy → Manage Your Alexa Data → Help Improve Alexa → Turn off Use voice recordings and Use messages to improve transcriptions
Amazon says people review "an extremely small sample" of requests to check that Alexa understood them correctly. Turning these off keeps your recordings and messages out of that review.
Follow-Up Mode
Alexa app → Devices → [device] → Device Settings → Follow-Up Mode → Off
Do this for each Echo, since Alexa+ turns it on for all of them. You can also say "Alexa, turn off Follow-Up Mode." On an Echo Show, it is under Settings → Alexa → Follow-Up Mode. With it off, Alexa stops listening as soon as it has answered.
Amazon Sidewalk
Alexa app → More → Settings → Account Settings → Amazon Sidewalk → Off
Sidewalk shares a small amount of your internet bandwidth to keep nearby Amazon and partner devices connected, including ones you do not own. The setting only appears if you have a compatible Echo, and it applies to all your devices on the account.
Hunches
Alexa app → More → Settings → Hunches → Turn off hunch suggestions
Hunches watches the state of your smart home devices, for example a light left on after you say good night, and offers to act. It is on by default. Turning it off does not affect your routines.
Microphone
Microphone off button on the device → Press it when you want privacy
The light turns red and the Echo stops listening, including for the wake word. It is the only way to be sure nothing is sent, since there is no longer a local processing option.
Trade-offs
- Choosing Don’t save deletes your Voice IDs, so Alexa can no longer tell the people in your home apart. Amazon also warns that auto-delete after 3 or 18 months can stop Voice ID working once the recordings used to create it are gone.
- Deleting recordings may make Alexa slightly worse at understanding your voice over time.
- With Follow-Up Mode off, you need to say the wake word before every request.
- With Sidewalk off, your devices lose its backup connection when Wi-Fi drops, and Sidewalk-based features such as some tracker and Ring range extensions stop working.
- Turning off Hunches only stops the suggestions. Your routines keep running.
- Muting the microphone turns off all voice features until you press the button again.
Who should not change these settings
- If several people in your home rely on Voice ID for personal results, keep recordings saved and delete individual chats by hand instead of choosing Don’t save or auto-delete.
- If you talk to Alexa+ in long back-and-forth conversations, keep Follow-Up Mode on for the Echo you use most and turn it off elsewhere.
- If you use Sidewalk-dependent features, such as a Tile tracker or Ring device out of Wi-Fi range, keep Sidewalk on.
- If Hunches has caught things you would have missed, like an unlocked door at night, there is no need to turn it off.
- If you want to help Alexa understand accents and speech patterns better, leaving Help Improve Alexa on is a reasonable choice.