I’d rather live with spyware. The specific “Alexa” keyword is processed locally and sent to cloud if that phrase is heard so its listening 24/7 but not spying 24/7. Just sends the phrase that you say after “Alexa” to the cloud. Since Amazon allows third party services it’s easier to process in the cloud rather than Amazon having to update each echo device. Preferable to do it this way instead of installing third party apps on the echos because the true worry to me would be if the firmware on the device gets hacked and then it could be spying on you 24/7.
