Alexa Users Can Move Forward With Class Action Over Alleged Illegal Recordings

Case Overview: A federal judge has allowed a class action to proceed, accusing Amazon's Alexa voice assistant of secretly recording private conversations through "false wakes" and failing to inform users.

Consumers Affected: U.S. consumers who registered Alexa devices and allege unintended conversations were recorded without consent.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle

Millions of Amazon Alexa users can move forward with a class action lawsuit accusing the tech giant of secretly recording private conversations, even when the devices weren’t intentionally activated. A federal judge in Seattle ruled this week that the plaintiffs have met the bar to sue for monetary damages and an injunction under Washington’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

At the center of the case are “false wakes,” moments when Alexa devices begin recording without the designated wake word being spoken. According to court documents, Amazon saves short snippets of these unintended recordings, allegedly to improve Alexa’s performance and voice recognition features. Plaintiffs say these moments are no accident but part of a broader design strategy that quietly collects massive amounts of voice data.

Users Say Amazon Failed to Inform About Recordings

The lawsuit claims that Amazon failed to properly inform users that their conversations might be recorded, stored indefinitely, reviewed by humans, and used to train the Alexa system. Plaintiffs argue that if users had known, they might have acted differently, either opting out or not using Alexa at all. 

They’re now asking the court to halt Amazon’s data use practices and to force the company to destroy existing recordings and transcripts.

The judge allowed one major part of the case to move forward: a nationwide class of users who registered Alexa devices and are seeking relief under Washington’s CPA. However, he denied certification for several state-level wiretap claims brought by users who never personally registered Alexa devices.

Still, plaintiffs estimate that false wakes happen at least once a month per device, meaning the vast majority of Alexa users have likely had unintended conversations recorded, possibly without ever knowing it.

Amazon Denies Wrongdoing as Legal Cases Stack Up

Amazon denies wrongdoing and argues that many users consented to being recorded either by registering their devices, using the Alexa app, or accepting terms of service. The company also claims some class members were never recorded at all, pointing to users who rely solely on push-to-talk functions or who opted out of data storage after 2020. 

The court noted those issues may require more individual review later in the case.

The Alexa case is just one in a growing list of legal headaches for Amazon, many of which center on user privacy and data handling. In 2023, Amazon agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice over its violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 

Regulators said the company kept kids’ voice and location data indefinitely, using it to train Alexa systems, even after parents requested its deletion. The FTC said Amazon misled users and sacrificed children’s privacy for product development gains.

Amazon is also facing a lawsuit in California accusing the company of secretly collecting and selling users’ precise geolocation data without consent. The suit claims that the data reveals intimate details of daily life, including where users live, work, and worship, violating both privacy laws and consumer trust.

Separately, Amazon has been accused of limiting employees’ post-employment opportunities and failing to comply with Washington’s pay transparency law.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Garner et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al.
• Case Number: 2:21-cv-00750-RSL 
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle

Are you an Alexa user? Have you experienced "false wakes" or concerns about recordings? Share your perspective below.