With privacy cred under fire, Apple to offer opt-out feature for Siri recordings access
Remember last week’s controversy that Apple lets random Siri voice recordings, including accidental ones that aren’t premediated by the “Hey,Siri!” command, be listened to by third-party contractors?
A whistleblower from one of these contractors that use the raw recordings to improve on Siri’s voice recognition and situational awareness, mentioned that sometimes the recordings include confidential medical information or even couples having sex while Siri is turned on (pun not intended).
Amazon and Google, however, let you opt out of the improvement program upon setup while Apple, the smart speaker newbie, hadn’t really thought it through and made the process automatic.
We are committed to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy. While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally. Additionally, as part of a future software update, users will have the ability to choose to participate in grading.
There you have it. Initially, Apple was nonplussed on the matter, saying that less than one percent of the recordings went to the development facilities, and that no user request is associated with their Apple ID, not to mention the confidentiality contracts.