Amazon is experimenting with a different Echo name, and it's one that's so perfect I wish they'd just do it today.

Amazon has disabled two key privacy features in its Alexa smart speakers, in a push to introduce artificial intelligence-powered "agentic capabilities" and turn a profit from the popular devices.

Amazon is removing a key privacy feature from its Echo smart speakers — and Alexa+ is to blame. On March 28, Amazon will remove the ability to have Alexa process your voice requests locally, and will start sending all of your recordings to the cloud to be processed there, rather on your Echo device itself.