Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Feb 20, 2026

Apple apologizes for listening to Siri conversations

Apple apologizes for listening to Siri conversations

Apple apologizes for a Siri grading program. The company had been allowing contractors to listen to a small percentage of the things people spoke to Siri. It suspended the program but will relaunch it this fall, letting users opt in if they want to help Apple improve Siri.

Apple on Wednesday apologized for its “Siri grading program,” which allowed contractors to review a small percentage of the things people spoke to its Siri voice assistant. The company said it will enable a few changes that give users more control over how their Siri requests are handled.

The program was halted earlier this month after The Guardian reported on July 26 that some of the workers who were reviewing Siri requests heard personal medical details, drug deals and more. Apple does most of its Siri processing on the device, however, instead of sending it to the cloud as Amazon and Google do.

Still, there’s no way to find out if you might have been among the small percentage of people whose questions to Siri were heard by people working for Apple. Apple also doesn’t let you review the questions you’ve asked Siri, a feature that both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant offer.

In a post to its site, Apple said that, by default, it will “no longer retain audio recordings of Siri interactions” but that it will still use “computer-generated transcripts to help Siri improve.” Users will be able to opt in to help Apple improve Siri, and those who do will also be able to opt out whenever they want to.

Apple also said that only its own employees, not outside contractors, “will be allowed to listen to audio samples of the Siri interactions,” and that the team will “delete any recording which is determined to be an inadvertent trigger of Siri.” According to a report from The Guardian on Wednesday, Apple laid off more than 300 contractors who were working on Siri grading in Europe.

“These transcriptions are associated with a random identifier, not your Apple ID, for up to six months,” according to a new Siri Privacy and Grading page that Apple published on Wednesday. “If you do not want transcriptions of your Siri audio recordings to be retained, you can disable Siri and Dictation in Settings.”

The page also explained that Apple’s grading process reviewed less than 0.2% of Siri requests. It used grading 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,” Apple’s new Siri privacy page says.

Amazon also grades how well Alexa performs, but lets users opt out of the program, which is enabled by default. Google suspended a similar practice in Europe earlier this month. In July, Google admitted that contractors leaked more than 1,000 voice recordings from Google Assistant, and voices in the clips were identifiable by what was spoken, according to Belgian news site VLT.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Early 2026 Data Suggests Tentative Recovery for UK Businesses and Households
UK Introduces Digital-First Passport Rules for Dual Citizens in Border Control Overhaul
Unable to Access Live Financial Data for January UK Surplus Report
UK ‘Working Closely with US’ to Assess Impact of Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
Trump Criticises UK Decision to Restrict Use of Bases in Potential Iran Strike Scenario
UK Foreign Secretary and U.S. State Chief Hold Strategic Talks as Tensions Rise Over Joint Air Base
King Charles III Opens London Fashion Week as Royal Family Faces Fresh Scrutiny
Trump’s Evolving Stance on UK Chagos Islands Deal Draws Renewed Scrutiny
House Democrat Says Former UK Ambassador Unable to Testify in Congressional Epstein Inquiry
No Record of Prince Andrew Arrest in UK as Claims Circulate Online
UK Has Not Granted US Approval to Launch Iran Strikes from RAF Bases, Government Confirms
UK Intensifies Efforts to Secure Saudi Investment in Next-Generation Fighter Jet Programme
Former Student Files Civil Claim Against UK Authorities After Rape Charges Against Peers Are Dropped
Archer Aviation Chooses Bristol for New UK Engineering Hub to Drive Electric Air Taxi Expansion
UK Sees Surge in Medical Device Testing as Government Pushes Global Competitiveness
UK Competition Watchdog Flags Concerns Over Proposed Getty Images–Shutterstock Merger
Trump Reasserts Opposition to UK Chagos Islands Proposal, Urges Stronger Strategic Alignment
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advocates for a ban on minors using social media.
Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash Accuses Prime Minister of Lying to Australians
Meanwhile in Time Square, NYC One of the most famous landmarks
Jensen Huang just told the story of how Elon Musk became NVIDIA’s very first customer for their powerful AI supercomputer
A Lunar New Year event in Taiwan briefly came to a halt after a temple official standing beside President Lai Ching‑te suddenly vomited, splashing Lai’s clothing
Jillian Michaels reveals Bill Gates’ $55 million investment in mRNA vaccines turned into over $1 billion.
Ex-Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrested
Former British Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office
Four Chagos Islanders Establish Permanent Settlement on Atoll
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
UK Inflation Slows Sharply in January, Strengthening Case for Bank of England Rate Cut
Hide the truth, fake the facts, pretend the opposite, Britain is as usual
UK Inflation Falls to Ten-Month Low, Markets Anticipate Interest Rate Cut
UK House Prices Climb 2.4% in December as Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation
BAE Systems Predicts Sustained Expansion as Defence Orders Reach Record High
Pro-Palestine Activists Cleared of Burglary Charges Over Break-In at UK Israeli Arms Facility
Former Reform UK Councillors Form New Local Group Amid Party Fragmentation
Reform UK Pledges to Retain Britain’s Budget Watchdog as It Seeks Broader Economic Credibility
Miliband Defends UK-California Clean Energy Pact After Sharp Criticism by Trump
University of Kentucky to Host 2026 Summer Camps Fair Connecting Families with Local Programmes
UK Police Forces Assess Claims Jeffrey Epstein Used Stansted Airport Flights in Trafficking Network
UK-Focused Equity ETF FLGB Climbs to Fresh 52-Week Peak on Strong Market Sentiment
Trump Warns UK’s Chagos Islands Agreement Is a “Big Mistake” Amid Strategic Security Debate
Trump Urges UK to Retain Sovereignty Over Diego Garcia Amid Strategic Concerns
Italian Police Arrest Man After Alleged Attempt to Abduct Toddler at Bergamo Supermarket, Child Hospitalised With Fractured Femur
Reform UK Appoints Former Conservative Minister Robert Jenrick as Finance Chief
UK Unemployment Rises to Highest in Nearly Five Years as Labour Market Weakens
Rupert Lowe Advocates for English-Only Use in the UK
US Successfully Transports Small Nuclear Reactor from California to Utah
South Korea's traditional sand wrestling sport ssireum faces declining interest at home
Japan outlawed Islam
Virginia Giuffre accuses Epstein of trafficking to powerful men for blackmail.
New Mexico lawmakers initiate investigation into Zorro Ranch linked to Jeffrey Epstein
×