Apple has gone ahead and apologised for allowing third-party contractors to listen to private voice recordings of people using Siri for making Siri responses better.
Reuters
Siri usually gets triggered using the catchphrase 'Hey Siri,' but according to the report, something as odd as just the sound of a zipper was also triggering it. What's worse is that on an Apple Watch, when the watch senses that it's being raised (thinking that the user might be using Siri) the assistant starts recording.?
The audio clips were being sent to third-party contractors (basically humans) who graded the responses and improved Siri's accuracy. During this they also heard various private discussions, criminal dealings even sounds during sex?being recorded by Siri.
Apple apologised for this invasion of user privacy in a statement, "As a result of our review, we realize we haven't been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize."
In the official statement made on its website, Apple mentions that even though they've halted the Siri grading program for now, they plan to resume later this fall when software updates are released, while also making a few key changes.
One of the biggest changes would be the fact that by default, they would no longer retain audio recordings of Siri interactions. They will however still continue to use computer-generated transcripts to help Siri improve.?
Alternatively, users will get an option to opt in to help Siri improve by learning from the audio samples of their requests if they wish to help Siri get better.
It also states that going forward, only Apple employees will be allowed to listen to audio samples of the Siri interactions. Moreover, they'll also work to delete recordings which are accidentally triggered.
Representative Image: Reuters
Something like this was totally unexpected from a brand that advertises the emphasis of user privacy in their products and services. Such acts cannot be simply forgotten by mere apologies and actions that should have been in force from the very inception of Siri and the way it collected information.?
Would you still trust Apple and enable Siri on your Apple devices? Let us know in the comments below.