Believe any of that, and I have a bridge you might want to buy. Just like
Zuckerberg, they got caught with their pants down, and just like
Zuckerberg, this won't be the last time.
On 8/28/2019 12:29 PM, M. Taylor wrote:
> 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
>
>
