[privateSFacct]

You do realize this toolkit is designed to deeply embed Alexa and other Amazon products into the device. So people WANT amazon to have a microphone and maybe a speaker and I'm sure lots of other metrics feeding back into an Amazon datacenter.

"Can" amazon, if they wanted, abuse this? It seems likely all the technical items are in place that they could. I don't see why they would, you are voluntarily putting everything they want into the device for them.

[loa_in_]

You can design a device that uses Amazon software for microphone audio "processing" AND have a hardware (or semiconductor based) switch at the microphone wire that you (or user) controls.