Amazon is making a major change to how its Alexa devices handle user voice data. Starting Friday, the company will disable the privacy feature that previously allowed users to block their voice recordings from being sent to the cloud. This move supports the rollout of its new AI-powered Alexa Plus, which requires all voice requests to be processed through Amazon’s cloud servers.

Until now, users could choose to keep their Alexa voice data local to their Echo devices, but that option will soon disappear. While Amazon says the change is necessary to enable advanced features like voice ID and conversational AI, privacy experts are raising concerns about the implications.

Dr. Rajiv Garg, associate professor of information systems at Emory University, says the shift could introduce new vulnerabilities. “We trust Amazon Alexa to do the right thing to safeguard, protect the data, protect information that is attached to us,” he said. “But maybe, what if somebody gains access to it?”

Garg warns that cloud-stored voice recordings could become a valuable target for hackers, especially as AI-driven scams like voice cloning become more common. “Scammers are getting calls in the voice of their grandchildren, and it’s not the grandchildren; it’s essentially AI using somebody’s voice,” he explained.

There is still a short window for concerned users: those who activate the “do not send voice recordings” setting before March 28 can preserve local-only processing, but Amazon notes that doing so will disable new features tied to Alexa Plus.

As the company continues to expand its use of artificial intelligence, questions remain about how it will balance innovation with privacy and security.

WSB’s Ashley Simmons contributed to this story