An iPhone privacy bug where Siri recorded conversations, even if the user had opted out, has been fixed by Apple.
According to ZDNet, an Apple privacy flaw that might have routed your Siri conversations back to the corporation even if you had opted out was fixed in December.
iOS 15.4 beta users were greeted with a question about whether they wanted to enable Apple to examine your Siri recordings again when they first installed the beta, and Apple has now verified that this was a glitch.
In September, iOS 15 included a bug that allowed Siri conversations to be recorded and shared with Apple even if the user had specifically declined this permission in the settings. In December, Apple discovered the problem and solved it by turning off the option for “many” Siri users at the same time in iOS 15.2.
As a result of an issue discovered in iOS 15, Apple has disabled the Improve Siri & Dictation option for many Siri users until it is rectified in iOS 15.2. “A tiny number of devices had the setting accidentally activated due to this problem. All audio received from impacted devices is being deleted as soon as the problem has been discovered.
Initially, it seems to be an encouraging phrase, but as you go more into it, it becomes increasingly ambiguous. Those who opted out were the only ones who were impacted, but does this suggest that the majority of consumers don’t mind their data being shared since it only affected a “tiny number of devices”?
It’s hardly comforting to learn that your recordings have been destroyed when they may have have been listened to if you care enough about data privacy to opt out of Apple’s sharing.
While it’s understandable that flaws might be introduced by accident, the fact that Apple has been aware of the problem since at least December is concerning. Given Apple’s efforts to tout its privacy credentials, that’s a big deal.
The bottom line is that if you’re a Siri user who cares about your privacy, you should upgrade to iOS 15.2 right now. Also, when iOS 15.4 comes out of beta, be careful to opt out again.