Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Microphone
Tracks location
What can be used to sign up?
What data does the company collect?
Personal
Identifiers such as your name, alias, address, phone numbers, IP address, your Amazon account log-in information, or a government-issued identifier (e.g. a social security number, which may be required for tax purposes if you are a Seller); personal information, such as a credit card number or other payment information; information that may reveal age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or other protected classifications, for example if you create a child profile, baby registry, or wedding registry, or if an author voluntarily self-identifies their racial identity for cataloging purposes; commercial information, such as purchase and content streaming activity; internet or other electronic network activity information, including content interaction information, such as content downloads, streams, and playback details, and the content of email and text messages, such as those you can send with Alexa or that are processed through Alexa's VIP Filter; inference data, such as information about your purchase preferences.
Body related
"Biometric information, such as your voice profile; Audio or visual information, such as voice recordings when you speak to Alexa."
Social
Contacts (optional, for making calls)
How does the company use this data?
We ding this product for sharing personal data including geolocation, age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected classifications; and combining data about you with data it receives from third parties.
Amazon.com Privacy Notice
"Examples of information we receive from other sources include:
<...>
- account information, purchase or redemption information, and page-view information from some merchants with which we operate co-branded businesses or for which we provide technical, fulfillment, advertising, or other services;
- information about your interactions with products and services offered by our subsidiaries;
- search results and links, including paid listings (such as Sponsored Links);
- information about internet-connected devices and services linked with Alexa; and
- credit history information from credit bureaus, which we use to help prevent and detect fraud and to offer certain credit or financial services to some customers."
"Advertising. We use your personal information to display interest-based ads for features, products, and services that might be of interest to you. We do not use information that personally identifies you to display interest-based ads. To learn more, please read our Interest-Based Ads notice."
"Third-Party Advertisers and Links to Other Websites: Amazon Services may include third-party advertising and links to other websites and apps. Third-party advertising partners may collect information about you when you interact with their content, advertising, and services. For more information about third-party advertising at Amazon, including interest-based ads, please read our Interest-Based Ads notice."
"Use of Third-Party Advertising Services: We provide ad companies with information that allows them to serve you with more useful and relevant Amazon ads and to measure their effectiveness. We never share your name or other information that directly identifies you when we do this. Instead, we use an advertising identifier like a cookie, a device identifier, or a code derived from applying irreversible cryptography to other information like an email address."
"We provide ad companies with information that allows them to serve you with more useful and relevant Amazon ads and to measure their effectiveness. We never share your name or other information that directly identifies you when we do this. Instead, we use an advertising identifier like a cookie, a device identifier, or a code derived from applying irreversible cryptography to other information like an email address. "
"Examples of information we receive from other sources include:
updated delivery and address information from our carriers or other third parties, which we use to correct our records and deliver your next purchase or communication more easily;
account information, purchase or redemption information, and page-view information from some merchants with which we operate co-branded businesses or for which we provide technical, fulfillment, advertising, or other services;
information about your interactions with products and services offered by our subsidiaries;
search results and links, including paid listings (such as Sponsored Links);
information about internet-connected devices and services linked with Alexa; and
credit history information from credit bureaus, which we use to help prevent and detect fraud and to offer certain credit or financial services to some customers."
Additional State-Specific Privacy Disclosures
"In the twelve months prior to the effective date of this Disclosure, Amazon has not sold any personal information of consumers, as those terms are defined under the California Privacy Rights Act."
"The personal information that Amazon disclosed to the third parties <...> in the twelve months prior to the effective date of this Disclosure falls into the following categories <...>:
- identifiers such as your name, address, phone numbers, IP address, or a government identifier <...>;
- personal information, such as a credit card number or other payment information <...>;
- information that may reveal age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or other protected classifications <...>;
- commercial information <...>;
- internet or other electronic network activity information, <...>;
- geolocation data, which may constitute precise geolocation data <...>;
- audio or visual information <...>;
- education information <...>;
- professional information <...>; and
- inference data <...>"
"Any personal information Amazon may have shared for the purpose of cross-context behavioral advertising <...> in the twelve months prior to the effective date of this Disclosure falls into the following categories:
- identifiers such as a cookie, a device identifier, or a code derived from applying irreversible cryptography to other information like an email address; we never share your name or other information that directly identifies you.
- internet or other electronic network activity information <...>.
- inference data; <...>, we may share an advertising identifier and an estimate of the value of the ads they show you on our behalf so they can serve you with more effective Amazon ads."
Alexa and Alexa Device FAQs
While voice recordings won't be used for ad personalization, the transcripts of recordings, and the list of actions that Alexa did in response to your voice commands, may be.
"We may still retain other records of your Alexa interactions, including records of actions Alexa took in response to your request. This allows us, for instance, to continue to provide your reminders, timers, and alarms, process your orders, remember the things you've taught Alexa, and show your shopping and to-do lists and messages sent through Alexa Communications."
"Alexa uses your voice recordings and other information, including from third-party services, to answer your questions, fulfill your requests, and improve your experience and our services. We associate your requests with your Amazon account to allow you to review your voice recordings, access other Amazon services (e.g. so you can ask Alexa to read your Kindle books and play audiobooks from Audible), and to provide you with a more personalized experience. For example, keeping track of the songs you have listened to helps Alexa choose what songs to play when you say, "Alexa, play music." At times, Alexa can provide you with recommendations based on your requests. For example, Alexa may recommend Alexa skills you might like based on the Alexa skills you use."
How can you control your data?
We ding this product as it is unclear if all users regardless of location can get their data deleted. Also, interest-based ads are delivered in an opt-out fashion.
"In addition, to the extent required by applicable law, you may have the right to request access to or delete your personal information."
"We keep your personal information to enable your continued use of Amazon Services, for as long as it is required in order to fulfill the relevant purposes described in the Amazon Privacy Notice, as permitted or as may be required by law, or as otherwise communicated to you. For example, we retain your transaction history so that you can review past purchases (and repeat orders if desired) and what addresses you have shipped orders to, and to improve the relevance of products and content we recommend."
"To manage your preferences for third parties and reset your Alexa Advertising IDs, visit Settings > Alexa Privacy > Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences in the Alexa app and Echo Show devices or https://www.amazon.com/alexaprivacysettings. Even if you turn this setting off, developers and content providers will still receive Alexa Advertising IDs for other purposes, such as reducing ad repetition and fraud detection, but you can reset your Alexa Advertising IDs at any time."
"You can also choose whether to receive interest-based ads delivered by Amazon on Alexa. If you choose not to receive interest-based ads from Amazon, you may still receive personalized recommendations and other similar features. You will still receive ads provided by Amazon, but they will not be based on your interests. You can manage this setting at Settings > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data in the Alexa app and Echo Show devices or https://www.amazon.com/alexaprivacysettings."
What is the company’s known track record of protecting users’ data?
Bad
In September 2023, FTC filed a lawsuit against Amazon for illegally maintaining monopoly power.
In July 2023, Apple and Amazon were fined by Spain antitrust watchdog.
In June 2023. the FTC took action against Amazon for "for its years-long effort to enroll consumers into its Prime program without their consent while knowingly making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions to Prime."
In June 2023, Mozilla published a major security vulnerability in the Amazon Ring Video Doorbell. Amazon has still not fixed this security vulnerability.
In March 2023, FTC and DOJ charged Amazon with violating Children’s Privacy Law by keeping kids’ Alexa voice recordings forever and undermining parents’ deletion requests.
In 2023, the company also agreed to pay $5.8 million in customer refunds for alleged privacy violations involving its doorbell camera Amazon Ring.
In 2022, Paige Thompson, a former Amazon employee accused of stealing the personal information of 100 million customers by breaching banking giant CapitalOne in 2019, was found guilty by a Seattle jury on charges of wire fraud and computer hacking.
In July 2021, the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection issued a 746 million euro fine to Amazon for allegedly violating the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In August 2020, security researchers from Check Point pointed out a flaw in Amazon's Alexa smart home devices that could have allowed hackers access to personal information and conversation history. Amazon promptly fixed the bug.
In October 2020, Amazon fired an employee for leaking customer email addresses to an unnamed third party.
In October 2019, Forbes reported that Amazon employees were listening to Amazon Cloud Cam recording, to train its AI algorythm.
In April 2019, it was revealed that thousands of employees, many of whom are contract workers and some not even directly employed by Amazon, had access to both voice and text transcripts of Alexa interactions.
Child Privacy Information
"Amazon does not sell products for purchase by children. We sell children's products for purchase by adults. If you are under 18, you may use Amazon Services only with the involvement of a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent of the child's parent or guardian. For more information, please see our Children's Privacy Disclosure."
Can this product be used offline?
No
User-friendly privacy information?
No
Amazon has a complicated mess of various privacy policies, privacy hubs, FAQs, and Advertising Preference pages, and more that is difficult to find, navigate, read, and understand.
Links to privacy information
Password-protected Amazon account is needed to set up Alexa.
Manages vulnerabilities
Yes
Is this AI untrustworthy?
Can’t Determine
What kind of decisions does the AI make about you or for you?
Amazon Alexa uses natural language processing to understand you and to generate answers to your requests.
Is the company transparent about how the AI works?
Yes
Does the user have control over the AI features?
Yes