Apple announced today in a press release that the analysis of Siri voice commands will resume in the fall - but there will be some changes that have been adapted to data protection.
A few weeks ago, it was revealed that Apple had hired external companies to analyze the regularly recorded Siri voice commands of users around the world. The recordings, of course, contain confidential information, but they were anonymized. When the British Guardian newspaper uncovered this practice, Apple quickly found itself in trouble. The Cupertino-based company subsequently shut down the entire program.
“Changes we are making”
Now Apple is being very open in a new statement and explaining the new approach. The statement says:
"As a result of our review, we find that we have not fully met our high standards, and for this we apologize. As previously communicated, we have paused the Siri grading program. We plan to resume this work later this fall, once software updates are released to our users—but only after the following changes:
First we will no longer store audio recordings of Siri interactions by default. We will continue to use computer-generated transcripts to help Siri improve.
Secondly Users can decide for themselves via opt-in whether they want to improve of Siri by allowing Siri to learn from audio samples of requests. We hope many people will choose to help improve Siri, knowing that Apple respects privacy and has strong privacy controls in place. Those who choose to participate can opt out at any time.
Third If customers opt in, only Apple employees will be allowed to hear audio samples of Siri interactions. Our team will work to delete any recordings identified as unintentional Siri triggers."
Apple is committed to the customer
In the future, Apple will only collect audio samples from users who sign up for the program - they can also unsubscribe at any time. It is also emphasized that these recordings can only be analyzed by direct Apple employees - the individual recordings will also no longer be saved. If accidental recordings are made, they can be deleted immediately. Basically, Apple is now committed to putting the customer at the center of its actions - this also includes protecting their own privacy.
In the press release, Apple underlines its own commitment to protecting the privacy of each individual user and explains how Siri will do the same in the future. Unlike other companies, Apple does not use Siri to create a marketing profile of a user. The recordings are also not analyzed according to a specific pattern but are selected randomly. In addition to the press release, a support document which contains further details on data protection. The entire press release can be here can be read. (Photo by DedMityay / Bigstockphoto)
