Apple defends Siri, saying the data it collects is never used for advertising, never sold, and never used for profiling

Having agreed to pay $95 million to settle lawsuit alleging Siri recorded video private conversations without consent, Apple reinforced his claim that he had done nothing wrong.

In a statement entitled “Our long-standing commitment to Siri privacy,” the company emphasizes that it is committed to protecting user privacy. Referring specifically to Siri as its “most personal digital assistant,” Apple insists that it has “never used Siri data to create marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising, and has never sold it to anyone for any purpose.” goals.”

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While Apple isn’t citing the lawsuit or any allegations against Siri, it’s clear that the claim didn’t just come out of the blue. The company says all of its products are built with privacy in mind from the ground up.

It goes on to describe three ways Siri protects user data: using on-device processing where possible, minimizing data collection, and using private cloud computing to protect any processing that needs to be done off-device.

Apple states that any off-device processing only occurs if the user has consented to such data transfer:

When a user talks or types with Siri, their request is processed on the device if possible. For example, when a user asks Siri to read unread messages or when Siri provides suggestions through widgets and Siri Search, the processing is done on the user’s device. Message content is not sent to Apple servers because it is not necessary to complete the request. And on eligible devices, the audio of user requests is processed entirely on the device by the Neural Engine, unless the user chooses to share it with Apple.

The company makes a big point about Siri collecting as little data as possible, saying:

While Apple tries to do as much as possible on the device, some features require real-time input from Apple servers. And in this case, Siri uses as little data as possible to get an accurate result. Searches and Siri requests are not associated with your Apple account. Random ID—a long string of letters and numbers associated with a single device—is used to track data as it is processed, rather than tying it to a user’s identity through their Apple account or phone number—a process that we believe is unique among digital assistants used today.

Apple doesn’t save audio recordings of interactions with Siri unless users explicitly agree to help improve Siri, and even then the recordings are used solely for that purpose. Users can easily opt out at any time.

For those still wary of Siri, Apple’s announcement is unlikely to change their minds. Likewise, for those who trust a digital assistant, the company’s words will only reinforce a pre-existing belief.

The statement can be seen Here.