Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa Review: Alexa+ Free With Prime, Every Request Sent to the Cloud

Is Alexa+ free? With Prime yes, otherwise $19.99 a month

Alexa+ opened to every US customer on February 4, 2026, after an Early Access phase that began in 2025. Prime members, who pay $14.99 a month or $139 a year, get the full version for the whole household on compatible Echos, at Alexa.com and in this app. Without Prime it costs $19.99 a month, sold on iPhone as the Alexa+ Standard Monthly in-app purchase, and eligible accounts get a 30-day trial. Everyone else can use a text-only Alexa+ chat in the app, which Amazon limits by usage without publishing a cap. Seven older models, including the first Echo, Echo Dot and the Echo Show 1st and 2nd Gen, stay on the original Alexa, and business accounts are excluded. These are US prices; check the current price in the app.

Matter 1.5, Zigbee hubs and the July 2026 alarm bug

The Devices page sorts lights, plugs and locks into rooms and groups, with Type and Sort filters and a Map View link. Most Echo models from the second generation on act as Matter controllers on the Matter 1.5 SDK, over Wi-Fi or Thread, and Amazon's developer docs note that a Matter connection lets Alexa control a device locally during an internet outage. Ten Echo models, among them the Echo (4th Gen), Echo Hub and Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), also contain a Zigbee hub, so many bulbs and locks pair without a separate bridge. The weak spot is the app itself: since a July 2026 update, 21 of the 217 one- and two-star English Play reviews from 2026 we read say the Alarms screen lists Echos as unknown or offline while voice commands still work.

Voice recordings: delete after 3 or 18 months, or don't save them

Amazon's privacy FAQ says that once an Echo hears its wake word (Alexa, Amazon, Computer, Echo or Ziggy), the request is recorded, sent to Amazon's cloud and transcribed there. Under More > Alexa Privacy you can review and delete that history, have it deleted automatically after 3 or 18 months, or choose not to save recordings. That last option removes audio after processing, but transcripts stay for 30 days and your voice ID is erased. Joining Alexa+ switches on Follow Up Mode, so follow-up requests work without repeating the wake word. Amazon says humans review "an extremely small sample" of interactions. Once deletion by voice is switched on, saying "Delete what I just said" erases the last request, but that command does not work with Alexa+ or on Amazon Kids devices.

Sponsored cards and interest-based ads: the one switch you get

Apple's age rating for the iPhone app lists advertising, and the Google Play Data safety form says email, user IDs and device IDs are collected partly for advertising or marketing. Amazon's help offers one toggle, Receive interest-based ads delivered by Amazon on Alexa, under More > Alexa Privacy > Manage your Alexa Data. Turning it off ends targeting, not ads: Amazon warns you may still see ads that are not based on your interests. On an Echo Show, cards marked Sponsored cannot be turned off; each can only be hidden for 30 days. The iPhone app may also use your location when it is not open, and Play lists contacts, calendar events, messages and health info among the optional data types it collects. With interest-based ads on, Improve Your Recommendations lets you exclude specific items from targeting.