It’s easy for Amazon services to become part of your day, whether you’re unwinding with a movie, shopping, or watching a favorite streamer on Twitch. Checking what happens to the information you leave behind often feels like a job for another day.
Contributing to Amazon AI training probably isn’t why you signed up. So what information can Amazon use to train its models, who decides whether it can be used, how does that affect you, and what choices do you have if you don’t want to take part? We looked at some of Amazon’s core services and its workplaces to find out.
- Alexa: Voice interactions help train Amazon’s models
- Twitch: Your stream could become Amazon’s training material
- Ring cameras: The FTC’s case over private video and algorithm training
- Fire TV: Viewing data becomes material for profiling
- Amazon’s workplaces: Automation, training, and surveillance
- Your privacy should be part of the service
Alexa: Voice interactions help train Amazon’s models
Alexa is Amazon’s voice assistant, available through Echo speakers and other devices. You can ask it to play music, set a timer, or answer a question while you’re busy doing something else.
What Alexa data can Amazon use for AI training?
According to Amazon’s Alexa FAQ(uusi ikkuna), the following data can be used to train its AI models:
| Content type | What Amazon can use for AI training |
|---|---|
| Voice recordings | Your speech, including accent, dialect, and speech patterns |
| Transcripts | Written versions of recorded speech |
| Typed requests | Questions and instructions you type to Alexa |
Amazon Alexa privacy lawsuits
Amazon has faced privacy lawsuits and regulatory action over how Alexa records, stores, and uses people’s conversations.
In 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice alleged that Amazon retained children’s voice recordings indefinitely(uusi ikkuna) unless parents asked for deletion, and used that unlawfully retained data to improve Alexa’s algorithms. According to the FTC, children’s speech provided valuable training data because it differs from adult speech.
The agency also alleged that when parents did request deletion, Amazon failed to remove transcripts from all its databases. The company denied wrongdoing but agreed to a $25 million civil penalty(uusi ikkuna), to delete inactive child accounts and certain voice and geolocation data, and to stop using that data to build or improve its products.
In a separate lawsuit, three plaintiffs in Washington, Florida, and Maryland accused Amazon of recording their private conversations through Alexa without consent. None of them had registered the devices, but they lived with family members who had. The dispute concerns “false wakes,” when Alexa mistakes another word or sound for its wake word and starts recording. In March 2026, a federal judge partly denied Amazon’s motion for summary judgment(uusi ikkuna), allowing the wiretapping claims over false-wake recordings to proceed while dismissing other claims in the case.
How to limit how Alexa uses your voice recordings
Since March 2025, every request to an Echo device is sent to Amazon’s cloud. You can’t stop that, but if you don’t feel comfortable with the idea of your and your family’s voice being used for building and improving Amazon AI models, here’s what you can do:
- In the Amazon Alexa app, open More → Alexa Privacy → Manage Your Alexa Data.
- Go to Voice Recordings and Transcripts and, under Choose how long to save, select Don’t retain.
- Go to Smart home device history and, under Delete Third-Party Smart Home Device History, tap Delete. You will have to do this often. Also, under Choose how long to save, choose the shortest period (Save history for 3 months).
- Go to Detected Sounds History and select the shortest period (Save history for 3 months).
- Go to Help improve Alexa and switch off Use of voice recordings and Use Alexa-to-Alexa messages to improve transcriptions.
- To review and delete Alexa voice recordings, transcripts, and typed requests, open More → Alexa Privacy → Review Alexa History.
Amazon changes these menus often, and the wording can differ by region and app version.
To stop the Echo listening at all, press its microphone-off button. The light turns red while the mics are off.
What else you should know about Alexa and model training
Is Alexa always listening? Yes, while its microphone is on, an Echo keeps listening for its wake word. Opting out of AI training doesn’t stop it recording and sending audio to Amazon when it activates, including by mistake.
Amazon keeps a written version of what you say even when you choose not to save voice recordings. Transcripts and typed requests remain for 30 days(uusi ikkuna) after your last request in an Alexa conversation, unless you delete them sooner.
Deleting your data doesn’t undo past training. Amazon may keep using models already trained on your data.
Can Amazon employees hear your recordings? Yes. Amazon says that “only an extremely small fraction of voice recordings go through human review”. However, in 2019, Bloomberg reported(uusi ikkuna) that each reviewer handled around 1,000 clips per nine-hour shift, and sometimes heard names and bank details. Turning off the Use of voice recordings setting (in Help improve Alexa) also excludes your recordings from human review.
Twitch: Your stream could become Amazon’s training material
Twitch is Amazon’s livestreaming platform, where creators broadcast live and viewers watch and chat. People come to share their interests, follow a favorite streamer, or spend time with a community.
The decision to make users’ content available for Amazon AI training has sparked a backlash over consent and who gets to decide how that content is used.
What Twitch content is eligible for Amazon AI training?
Twitch’s AI training FAQ(uusi ikkuna) lists the channel content eligible for Amazon’s generative AI training.
| Content type | What Amazon can use for AI training |
|---|---|
| Video | Live streams, saved broadcasts, clips, and highlights |
| Audio | Sound from streams, including speech |
| Chat | Messages viewers post during a stream |
| Channel content | Images and text on a channel |
Twitch opts you into Amazon AI training by default
Since August 2026, Twitch has generative AI training on by default, leaving you to find the setting and switch it off yourself. During a Twitch livestream, chief product officer Mike Minton was blunt about the reason: “If it’s opt-in, nobody would opt-in(uusi ikkuna).” Minton could not confirm what content Amazon had already used for training, and it remained unclear when data collection started.
How to turn off AI training on Twitch
Open Settings → Security and Privacy and disable Training for Generative AI.
What else you should know about Twitch and model training
Your opt-out only covers your own Twitch channel. Amazon may still use messages you post in another streamer’s chat if they have AI training enabled.
Opting out doesn’t disable Twitch’s other AI features. Twitch can still use your data(uusi ikkuna) for chat moderation, automatic captions, and content recommendations.
Opting out only applies to future training. It doesn’t undo any training Amazon may already have carried out using your content.
The setting may not stay off. Some users reported that the Training for Generative AI toggle was turned back on after they had previously disabled it, so it may be worth checking the setting again periodically.
Ring cameras: The FTC’s case over private video and algorithm training
Ring is Amazon’s security camera and video doorbell brand. Ring devices can record deliveries and visitors outside your home, as well as family routines and private moments indoors.
The FTC has taken action over Ring’s use of private footage, while facial recognition has raised questions about the privacy of visitors and passersby.
What Ring data is used for Amazon AI training and facial recognition?
Ring cameras capture video, and its Familiar Faces feature(uusi ikkuna) uses facial data to recognize visitors.
| Content type | How Ring uses it |
|---|---|
| Video recordings | Customer footage that the FTC alleged Ring used to train algorithms without consent |
| Face images and profiles | Images and facial data used by Familiar Faces to recognize visitors |
The $5.8 million settlement over private videos
In 2023, the FTC accused Ring(uusi ikkuna) of using customers’ private videos to train algorithms without consent. Employees and contractors had broad access to the footage, and users weren’t clearly told how it would be used. The agency said Ring buried information about product development deep in its terms and privacy policy.
According to the FTC, weak security left customers exposed to outsiders, too, enabling hackers to access the accounts of about 55,000 US customers and use some cameras’ speakers to harass people. Ring agreed to pay $5.8 million for consumer refunds, while denying it had violated the law(uusi ikkuna). The resulting court order(uusi ikkuna) required Ring to delete pre-March 2018 videos that employees and contractors had reviewed for research, along with facial data collected before that date.
The deletion requirement extended to models and algorithms developed from that footage. However, Ring could keep any it deemed technically infeasible to delete, if its top executive provided a sworn explanation to the FTC.
Ring facial recognition also affects people who never bought a camera
Ring’s Familiar Faces feature(uusi ikkuna) lets camera owners add names to face profiles so notifications identify people they know. The feature is off by default, and only the account owner can enable it or manage the profiles. It isn’t available in some places due to local legislation concerning biometric data.
The people getting scanned have no say. In a February 2026 letter(uusi ikkuna) to Amazon’s CEO, Senator Ed Markey said the feature leaves the public with “no right to consent to a facial scan,” and that anyone seeking deletion must ask each camera owner separately, “for every home they visit.” He urged Amazon to “immediately discontinue” it.
How to turn off Ring facial recognition
- In the Ring app, open Menu ☰ → Pro Features.
- Under Familiar Faces, tap Manage People.
- Tap the gear icon ⚙ at the upper right of the library.
- Turn off Familiar Faces for each camera.
To delete stored profiles, open Pro Features → Familiar Faces → Manage People. Select a profile and tap the Delete icon.
Note: Consider visitors and neighbors when positioning your cameras, and check local rules. For example, Spain’s privacy regulator’s guidance(uusi ikkuna) says home security cameras mustn’t capture public streets or neighboring properties.
What else you should know about Ring cameras and model training
Turning off face alerts doesn’t turn off facial recognition. Ring still identifies people(uusi ikkuna) and displays their names in Event History and Timeline.
Your Ring controls only apply to your own cameras. If someone else’s camera has created a face profile of you, you need to ask that account owner to remove it.
Keeping Ring out of your footage means giving up features. You can enable end-to-end encryption to prevent Ring from accessing your recordings, but you’ll lose Familiar Faces, Video Search, Smart Alerts, and Shared User access to videos on those cameras. Ring’s newer TAKE encryption keeps those features by letting Ring’s systems temporarily decrypt and process(uusi ikkuna) your videos, then deleting the keys within 24 hours. With end-to-end encryption, no Ring service can access them at all.
It’s uncertain if video footage can be used for AI training. Amazon told Senator Markey(uusi ikkuna) that Ring doesn’t use customers’ biometric data to train its models unless people specifically agree to this, such as beta testers. But the letter doesn’t address videos. Ring’s US generative AI disclosure says its training data may include “personal information or aggregate consumer information,” without saying whether that includes footage from customers’ cameras.
It’s uncertain whether Ring plans to track people. Ring launched Search Party in 2025 to scan neighbors’ camera footage for lost pets. In an email to staff, reported by 404 Media(uusi ikkuna), CEO Jamie Siminoff called it a “foundation” built “first for finding dogs” and wrote that Ring could “zero out crime in neighborhoods,” which suggests that Ring may one day be capable of finding people. Ring told 404 Media that Search Party “does not process human biometrics or track people,” but didn’t rule out that use in future.
Fire TV: Viewing data becomes material for profiling
Fire TV is Amazon’s TV platform, available through streaming devices and built into some televisions. You might use it to watch a film, follow a series, or switch between streaming apps.
What data does Amazon collect through Fire TV?
Amazon’s Fire TV privacy FAQ(uusi ikkuna) lists the viewing and device data covered by its privacy controls.
| Data type | What’s included |
|---|---|
| Device usage data | Navigation of the home screen, selection of device settings |
| App usage data | Which third-party apps you use and for how long |
| Over-the-air viewing data | What you watch through an antenna connected to a television with Fire TV |
| Interest-based ads | Whether apps can use your advertising ID to build ad profiles |
How automatic content recognition (ACR) tracks what’s on screen
If you’re worried about your smart TV spying on you, ACR is often the technology behind it. ACR lets smart TVs track what you watch. The technology samples on-screen content and matches it against a reference library to identify the programs, movies, or other material you’re viewing.
Researchers studying Samsung and LG TVs(uusi ikkuna) in the UK and US found that they kept capturing and sending ACR data when displaying content from HDMI-connected devices, such as a computer or gaming console. Samsung’s documentation says its TVs capture frames every 500 milliseconds; LG’s says every 10 milliseconds. Opting out of ACR in the TV’s settings stopped the traffic completely.
Do smart TVs have cameras?
Some smart TVs have built-in cameras, including certain Samsung models(uusi ikkuna). Check your television’s specifications to find out whether yours has one and how to disable it.
But you should note that ACR works without a camera, so covering a lens won’t stop your TV tracking what you watch.
The lawsuit over Fire TV viewing profiles
Two Fire TV owners accused Amazon of collecting viewing data through ACR and using machine learning to analyze it for targeted advertising without informed consent. Their May 2026 proposed class action(uusi ikkuna) covers Amazon’s own Fire TVs and models from other manufacturers. The complaint alleges ACR also captures content from devices plugged in by HDMI, such as laptops and games consoles.
The owners allege Amazon combines viewing data with shopping activity on Amazon.com to build detailed advertising profiles, linking what you watch with what you buy. They’re asking the court to require clear disclosure, make ACR opt-in, and order the collected data deleted.
How to limit Fire TV’s data sharing and targeted advertising
Open Settings → Preferences → Privacy Settings and switch off:
- Device Usage Data
- Collect App Usage Data
- Interest-based Ads
- Over-the-air Viewing Data (where available)
What else you should know about Fire TV and model training
Turning off Device Usage Data doesn’t stop all collection. The opt-out only covers Amazon’s use of device data for marketing and product development. Amazon can still use other data to show you interest-based ads.
Turning off Interest-based Ads limits targeting, not ads. The control stops apps using your device’s advertising ID for profiling and targeted advertising, but you will still see ads (not personalized).
Prime Video isn’t covered by Device Usage Data. Amazon says turning that setting off doesn’t affect how it processes data from your use of Amazon services such as Prime Video, and points you to each service’s own settings instead.
Your changes apply only to the Fire TV device where you make them. You must repeat them on every other Fire TV device.
It’s uncertain whether Fire TV usage helps train AI models. Its FAQ says Fire TV usage data helps it “develop and improve products and features for all our customers,” without specifying whether that includes training AI models.
Amazon’s workplaces: Automation, training, and surveillance
Amazon’s workplaces include offices, warehouses, delivery vehicles, and the systems used to monitor them. Cameras, scanners, and vehicle systems record routine work, from storing products to driving deliveries.
The data collected at work can be used to train automation models, track productivity, or develop a supplier’s machine-learning systems.
What data do workers prepare for Amazon AI training?
Amazon’s job listings for its ML Data Operations team(uusi ikkuna) describe workers labeling video, images, and text for models used by Amazon Robotics and Fulfillment Technologies.
| Content type | What the work involves |
|---|---|
| Video | Identifying objects and tracking their movement |
| Images | Labeling objects and marking the areas they occupy |
| Text | Labeling and evaluating written material |
People review hundreds of warehouse videos per shift
Amazon’s GO-AI job description(uusi ikkuna) says staff watch several hundred warehouse videos per shift, spending nearly seven hours a day on them. The clips typically last 15–20 seconds and show products being placed into storage. Reviewers verify and mark the product’s location, and Amazon says the audited videos improve “the effectiveness of automated process.”
Amazon was fined over excessive employee-data retention
Amazon France Logistique retained detailed scanner data about employees’ productivity and work quality for 31 days. In a December 2025 ruling(uusi ikkuna), France’s Conseil d’État upheld the finding that Amazon hadn’t justified keeping so much information for that long. It also upheld findings that Amazon failed to inform workers about data collection and didn’t adequately secure its surveillance-camera systems.
The court cut the fine from €32 million to €15 million. It also ruled that Amazon could lawfully track workers with three disputed metrics, including one that flags anyone idle for more than 10 minutes.
Vehicle footage may become training data for a camera supplier
Amazon’s Relay Safety Rewards program(uusi ikkuna) pays for independent trucking companies hauling Amazon freight to install cameras from suppliers including Netradyne, a company that makes AI-powered dashboard cameras for commercial fleets. Amazon says it only learns when a camera detects a collision.
Under Netradyne’s privacy policy(uusi ikkuna), however, the company may retain a small share of recorded video, which it says is under 0.1%, to train its own machine-learning models. Footage is more likely to be selected when feedback or an audit shows its device made an error. Drivers can ask Netradyne to stop training on images of them, subject to applicable laws, but the policy doesn’t say how Amazon-related footage is handled.
What Amazon workers can check about data collection
If you’re in this situation, ask your employer or contracting company for its workplace privacy notice and camera policy. Look for answers to four questions:
- What information is collected about you?
- Who receives it, including outside suppliers?
- Can it be reused for AI training, and how long is it kept?
- What options do you have to access it, request deletion, or object to its use? These rights depend on where you live.
If you drive a vehicle equipped with Netradyne cameras, its policy says you can ask the company to stop training its models on images of you, subject to applicable laws. Contact privacy@netradyne.com or its data protection officer at dpo@netradyne.com.
What else you should know about Amazon workplaces and model training
Netradyne’s training opt-out only covers newly collected footage. Images already selected for training may continue to be used.
Opting out of training doesn’t switch off workplace monitoring. The cameras may still record footage and analyze it for safety.
Netradyne doesn’t say how long it keeps training data. Its policy gives no retention period, only that it keeps less than 0.1% of recorded video on average.
Your employer may see your request. Netradyne says it may forward driver requests to the employer or contractor that uses its cameras.
Your privacy should be part of the service
“If it’s opt-in, nobody would opt-in.” Twitch’s explanation treats an expected refusal as a problem to work around. People become data points first and get a say afterward, provided they find the controls.
The intrusions covered here barely scratch the surface of Amazon’s data collection and tracking across its products and services. Even avoiding Amazon entirely is hard: Whenever there’s an outage with AWS, its cloud platform, half the internet goes down with it.
Expecting everyone to read every policy and regularly check every setting is unrealistic, especially when Amazon is only one company among many. The same burden follows people across Google, social platforms, apps, and other services where personalization, data collection, and AI training are enabled by default and privacy depends on opting out.
Amazon and the other Big Tech players benefit from our inattention, and we help them along whenever we put convenience first and leave AI privacy concerns for another day. We can dislike the intrusion and still help it continue.
If you’ve decided Amazon isn’t worth the trade, you can delete your Amazon account. It’s permanent: you lose access to purchases and services tied to the account, including Kindle books, Prime Video, Audible, and Alexa, so download anything you want to keep first. Amazon still keeps some data, such as your order history, for legal and tax reasons, and deleting your account doesn’t undo any training already done on your data.
Amazon still has a responsibility to explain what it plans to do with people’s information and ask before using it beyond the service they chose. When a company expects people to say no, it should respect that answer instead of deciding for them.
Find out more about what’s at stake in Proton’s complete guide on AI and privacy.
Privacy shouldn’t depend on finding the right toggle. We founded Proton to build a better internet where privacy is the default, and designed our services so your data isn’t available to exploit in the first place. That includes AI. Lumo, our private AI assistant, encrypts conversations so no one, not even us, can access your files and chats, nor use them for AI training.
