Echo, Amazon, or Computer). For other devices, like certain Fire tablets, you access Alexa
by pressing a button.
Is Alexa recording all my conversations?
No. By default, Echo devices are designed to detect only your chosen wake word (Alexa,
Amazon, Computer or Echo). The device detects the wake word by identifying acoustic
patterns that match the wake word. No audio is stored or sent to the cloud unless the device
detects the wake word (or Alexa is activated by pressing a button).
You can also configure supported Echo devices to detect specific sounds, such as the sound
of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and glass breaking. See the FAQ "How does
Alexa Guard work?" for more information.
What happens when I speak to Alexa?
When you speak to Alexa, a recording of what you asked Alexa is sent to Amazon’s cloud
where we process your request and other information to respond to you. For example, when
you ask “Alexa, play top hits on Amazon Music” we use the recording of your request and
information from Amazon Music to play top hits.
How does Alexa minimize the amount of data sent to the cloud?
Alexa and Echo devices are designed to record as little audio as possible and minimize the
amount of background noise streamed to the cloud. By default, Alexa-enabled devices only
stream audio to the cloud if the wake word is detected (or Alexa is activated by pressing a
button). When an Alexa-enabled device detects the wake word and begins streaming audio
to the cloud, Alexa performs a "cloud verification" of the wake word using the more powerful
processing capabilities of the cloud to double-check the audio to confirm detection of the
wake word.
If the cloud verification does not also detect the wake word, Alexa stops processing the
audio and ends the audio stream to the cloud. If Alexa confirms that the wake word was
spoken, Alexa will continually attempt to determine when your request has ended and then
immediately end the audio stream.
What about "false wakes"?
In some cases, your Alexa-enabled device might interpret another word or sound as the
wake word (for instance, the name "Alex" or someone saying "Alexa" on the radio or
television). When this happens, we call that a "false wake." We have a team of world-class