The complaints say Alexa devices could have been designed to only send a digital query rather than a voice recording to Amazon's servers - although processing the audio locally would have disadvantages such as potentially driving up the cost of the devices involved and making it harder for Amazon to deploy updates to its voice-recognition tech. Alternatively, it is suggested that Amazon could automatically overwrite the recordings shortly after they have been processed, although this might affect the smart assistant's ability to deliver personalised replies. Even if neither of these options were adopted, the plaintiffs suggest that more could be done to ensure children and others were aware of what was going on. "At no point does Amazon warn unregistered users it is creating persistent voice recordings of their Alexa interactions, let alone obtain their consent to do so," the complaints state. "Neither the children not the parents have consented to the children's interactions being permanently recorded.