Apple has issues an official statement addressing the situation with contractors listening to audio clips recorded through Siri. The company – alongside Google – said it will pause the practice awhile ago. As part of the statement, Apple also apologised for not living up to its own high ideals when it comes to privacy.
To that end, the company is also announcing changes to the way it handles Siri. For one, users will have to opt in if they choose to allow their voice clips to be used. Audio samples will also only be listened to by the company’s own employees, and not outside contractors. Otherwise, only computer generated transcripts of Siri requests will be used.
In addition to the above, Apple will also delete recorded voice clips that weren’t meant to trigger Siri. These new policies will be in effect when the company resumes its grading process, which will be sometime in fall.
Apple is not the only company to have employed contractors to listen to voice clips to improve its own service. Facebook, Google and Microsoft were also previously revealed to have third parties transcribe recordings to help their services improve. Microsoft is also the only exception among them, being the only company to continue to do so.
(Source: Apple)
