Apple apologizes for Siri audio recordings, announces privacy changes
going
forward
By Chaim Gartenberg, Aug 28, 2019, 11:07am EDT
Apple has issued a formal apology for its privacy practices of secretly
having human contractors listen to recordings of customers talking to its
Siri digital assistant to improve the service. "We realize we haven't
been
fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize," Apple's
statement reads.
The company also announced several changes to Siri's privacy policy:
First, by default, we will no longer retain audio recordings of Siri
interactions. We will continue to use computer-generated transcripts
to help
Siri improve.
Second, users will be able to opt in to help Siri improve by learning
from
the audio samples of their requests. We hope that many people will
choose to
help Siri get better, knowing that Apple respects their data and has
strong
privacy controls in place. Those who choose to participate will be
able to
opt out at any time.
Third, when customers opt in, only Apple employees will be allowed to
listen
to audio samples of the Siri interactions. Our team will work to
delete any
recording which is determined to be an inadvertent trigger of Siri.
Apple was one of several major tech companies - including Google, Amazon,
Facebook, and Microsoft - that was caught using paid human contractors to
review recordings from its digital assistant, a fact that wasn't made
clear
to customers. According to The Guardian's report, those contractors had
access to recordings that were full of private details, often due to
accidental Siri triggers, and workers were said to each be listening
to up
to 1,000 recording a day.
In the aftermath of that report, Apple announced that it would suspend
the
grading program that would see those recordings reviewed. "We are
committed
to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy," an
Apple spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge at the time.
Previously, Apple policy would keep random recordings from Siri for up to
six months, after which it would remove identifying information for a
copy
that it would keep for two years or more.
Per today's announcement, both the non-optional recording and the
subsequent
grading policies are now being suspended for good. Apple says it will no
longer keep audio recordings from Siri unless a user specifically opts
in.
And in cases where customers do choose to give Apple their data, only
Apple
employees will have access (not, it would seem to imply, hired
contractors).
The company additionally promises that it will work to delete
recordings of
accidental triggers, which The Guardian's report claims were the main
source
of sensitive information.
According to Apple's statement, the company plans to resume grading Siri
recordings under those new policies later this fall, following a software
update that adds the new opt-in option to its devices.
Original Article at:
https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/28/20836760/apple-apology-siri-audio-recordi
ngs-privacy-changes-contractors
