\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2019\/04\/Amazons-Alexa-powered-products-can-stream-music-and-audiobooks-via-the-companys-services-796x327.jpg\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Amazon\u2019s Alexa smart assistant may be useful, but the privacy concerns aren\u2019t going away anytime soon.<\/p>\n
Now, in a fresh turn of events, the retail giant has confirmed<\/a> that it keeps transcripts and voice recordings indefinitely, and only removes them if they\u2019re manually deleted by users.<\/p>\n The confirmation came to light after Delaware Democratic senator Chris Coons\u00a0sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos back in May<\/a>, requesting information about the company\u2019s privacy and data security practices for Alexa devices.<\/p>\n Privacy in the Internet of Things space has already been a hot topic. Earlier this April, Bloomberg published a piece about how thousands of Amazon employees listen to voice recordings<\/a> captured in Echo speakers, transcribing and annotating them to improve the Alexa digital assistant that powers the smart speakers.<\/p>\n Then in May, the retail behemoth came under further scrutiny for its data collection practices after CNET reported that Alexa assistant not only keeps your voice recordings<\/a>, but also keeps a record of your voice transcriptions for improving its AI algorithms, with no option to delete them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe inability to delete a transcript of an audio recording renders the option to delete the recording largely inconsequential and puts users\u2019 privacy at risk,\u201d said Coons in his letter.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not all. A coalition of children\u2019s advocacy organizations led by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission<\/a> claiming that the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition was retaining children\u2019s data<\/a> even after parents deleted the voice recordings.<\/p>\n Although Amazon has denied that its devices are in violation of children\u2019s online privacy protection laws, it acknowledged there was a bug<\/a>, and has since fixed the issue. It also began rolling out a pair of Alexa commands<\/a> that allows you to delete voice recordings without using its website.<\/p>\n In addition, the company said it\u00a0had an \u201congoing effort to ensure those transcripts do not remain in any of Alexa\u2018s other storage systems.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest development also comes at a time privacy concerns have reached a fever pitch, with people scrutinizing the tech they use more than ever.<\/p>\n But Coons isn\u2019t exactly satisfied with Amazon\u2019s response.<\/p>\n \u201cAmazon\u2019s response leaves open the possibility that transcripts of user voice interactions with Alexa are not deleted from all of Amazon\u2019s servers, even after a user has deleted a recording of his or her voice,\u201d he said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, the extent to which this data is shared with third parties, and how those third parties use and control that information, is still unclear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n