Related Stories
Apple contractors 'regularly hear confidential details' on Siri recordings
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
Posted: August 12th, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/26/apple-con...
Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex, as part of their job providing quality control, or grading, the companys Siri voice assistant. Although Apple does not explicitly disclose it in its consumer-facing privacy documentation, a small proportion of Siri recordings are passed on to contractors working for the company around the world. Apple says the data is used to help Siri and dictation ... understand you better and recognise what you say. But the company does not explicitly state that that work is undertaken by humans who listen to the pseudonymised recordings. A whistleblower working for the firm, who asked to remain anonymous due to fears over their job, expressed concerns about this lack of disclosure, particularly given the frequency with which accidental activations pick up extremely sensitive personal information. The whistleblower said: There have been countless instances of recordings featuring private discussions. These recordings are accompanied by user data showing location, contact details, and app data. Although Siri is included on most Apple devices, the contractor highlighted the Apple Watch and the companys HomePod smart speaker as the most frequent sources of mistaken recordings. As well as the discomfort they felt listening to such private information, the contractor said they were motivated to go public about their job because of their fears that such information could be misused.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on the disappearance of privacy from reliable major media sources.