Users Abandon 600 Million Alexa Devices as Ads, Glitches and Privacy Fears Mount
Updated
Updated · SlashGear · Aug 9
Users Abandon 600 Million Alexa Devices as Ads, Glitches and Privacy Fears Mount
2 articles · Updated · SlashGear · Aug 9
Summary
Amazon users are dropping Alexa devices as the voice assistant loses appeal, with newer AI tools like ChatGPT making the decade-old Echo experience feel limited.
Performance problems are adding to that drift: users report alarms failing, voice commands working inconsistently, and smart-home setup requiring manual fixes despite Alexa’s promise of simplicity.
A 2022 sponsored-answers feature has also fueled complaints that Alexa’s “By the way” suggestions are thinly veiled ads, sometimes surfacing at night and waking households.
Privacy concerns remain a deeper risk because Alexa requests are typically processed in the cloud, and Amazon ended in 2025 an opt-out that had let some device owners avoid sending audio there.
That combination threatens trust in a product line Amazon says now spans more than 600 million devices, even after launching generative-AI-powered Alexa+ in 2025.