Technology

Apple and Google act on data privacy worries over voice assistants

Tech giants shelve review of recordings from users interacting with voice assistants

Users can turn off storing audio data to their Google account completely, or choose to auto-delete data after every three months or 18 months, said Google. File photograph: Getty

Sat Aug 3 2019 - 00:24

Apple and Google have globally suspended reviewing recordings from users interacting with their voice assistants, as concerns over data privacy mount.

Apple said on Friday it had paused the programme called “grading”, where it reviewed anonymised recordings of conversations people had with its Siri voice assistant.

The decision comes after the Guardian last week reported that the company’s contractors tasked with reviewing the recordings regularly heard confidential information and private conversations.

Increased public and political scrutiny of data privacy practices have forced greater transparency from Silicon Valley companies, with Google pausing reviews of audio recordings from its Google assistant service for all purposes in all languages, after a leak of Dutch audio data.

READ MORE

Proposals being weighed by politicians in the United States and elsewhere would limit how internet companies track and distribute consumer information as voice assistants such as Siri and Amazon’s Alexa become a bigger part of people’s everyday lives.

“While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally,” said an Apple spokeswoman, adding that users will be able to opt out of the programme in a future software update.

Contractors graded Siri’s answers to user queries as part of efforts to perform quality checks, the Guardian reported. They also looked at whether the response was triggered accidentally, the newspaper said.

Users can turn off storing audio data to their Google account completely, or choose to auto-delete data after every three months or 18 months, said a Google spokeswoman.

Amazon also said it allows users to opt out of having their voice recordings used to help develop new Alexa features.

The company will update the information provided to customers to make the practices more clear, said an Amazon spokeswoman said.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of reviews from its Cortana voice assistant. – (Reuters)

LATEST STORIES