Apple addresses Siri privacy and grading questions with new FAQ page
- aug
- 28
What you need to know
- Apple published a new FAQ page addressing Siri recording concerns.
- The page follows Apple's apology for the Siri controversy.
- Among the topics the FAQs address are grading, transcripts, minimizing data and more.
If you have a Siri privacy question, you'll find an answer here.
Following the release of its apology for the Siri recording controversy, Apple published a new FAQ site that answers some of the most common questions regarding its Siri recording policy.
Titled "Siri Privacy and Grading," it is aimed at calming customers' concerns over their audio Siri recordings. Apple says it listened to feedback and suspended the program, for now. It will return in the fall with new changes, but that still leaves a lot of questions. You'll find answers with this page.
The first questions answers the lingering concern about grading:
What is grading?
Before we suspended grading, our process involved reviewing a small sample of audio from Siri requests — less than 0.2% — and their computer-generated transcripts to measure how well Siri was responding and to improve its reliability. For example, did the user intend to wake Siri? Did Siri hear the request accurately? And did Siri respond appropriately to the request? By using grading across a small sample of Siri requests over time, Apple can make big improvements that help ensure that our customers around the world have the best Siri experience possible.
Here's another question that is answered.
Why do you keep transcripts for customers who do not opt in?
Computer generated transcripts are used to improve Siri and its reliability. These transcripts are used in machine learning training to improve Siri, determine common usage patterns, and update language and understanding models. The transcripts may also be used to resolve critical problems that affect Siri reliability.
Apple continues to answers multiple questions about privacy policies among intelligent assistants, whether Siri is always listening, minimizing data, Siri access to personal information, and more.
If you have a question regarding Siri recordings and how they are graded, you'll find an answer in this new support page.