It’s been a good 24 hours for defaults. Motion smoothing might stop being the default on TVs. Fitbit has a real shot at making the de-facto default smartwatch for Android users, who desperately need one. And the best default of all: the default opt-out on Siri recordings.
Here’s our story on it: Apple apologizes for Siri audio recordings, announces privacy changes going forward.
A key part of this story is that Apple straight-up apologized. That apology is totally warranted, and I’d like to briefly explain why.
If you haven’t been following all the drama surrounding smart assistants saving your voice on their servers so humans could listen, I wrote a piece about it earlier this month. The main way Apple was (and is) better is it more aggressively anonymizes user data from Siri (but there’s a limit to how anonymous a recording of your voice can be. Apple’s slightly updated policies can be found here and they’re worth a read.
However, when it came to actually managing the data that Apple was storing, Siri was actually worse at privacy settings than Amazon or Google. You couldn’t use Siri without having your voice saved and potentially listened to by a human, for one thing. For another, Apple did not (and will not) offer a portal where you can review and delete all of your voice recordings and transcripts.
The only way to delete that data was to simply turn off Siri and Voice Dictation. And that was the biggest problem: turning off Siri was way too hard. There was no single button for it, you had to just know that a few vaguely related settings did it. There was no easy opt-out. Google and Amazon weren’t angels, but their past history with privacy scandals at least set them up to know what to do when their respective assistant listening scandals hit.
Apple had to scramble. It shut down all human review and then hunkered down to figure out a fix. Then fix the company has come up with puts it where you’d expect: ahead of everybody else.
There will now be a default opt-out for Siri recordings and a promise that no third-party contractors will hear your voice. There will also be a clear, simple button you can toggle to opt in if you want to be helpful. Apple may not have had the experience of dealing with privacy scandals necessary to give users clearer controls over the data it was storing right away, but it’s also a fast learner.
Amazon and Google should follow Apple’s lead on the default opt-out. It’s not just fun to say, it’s a best privacy practice.
How Smart Assistants handle your voice recordings
| Question | Alexa | Siri | Google Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question | Alexa | Siri | Google Assistant |
| Are my voice recordings stored by default | Yes | No | Yes |
| Can I use it without having my recordings stored? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Can I delete these recordings? | Yes, including with voice commands | Yes, but it's not easy | Yes |
| Are recordings associated with my account? | Yes | No | Yes |
Here are some other big tech stories of the day
TV manufacturers unite to tackle the scourge of motion smoothing
I love this. I am a little annoyed that “we won’t screw up the video by default” is now going to become a marketing feature instead of the default, but whatever. Next step: getting directors to rally together to force TV makers to stop tracking what we watch and selling that data. In the meantime, here’s Jon Porter explaining what Filmmaker mode does:
The UHD Alliance, a collection of companies who work together to define display standards, has announced Filmmaker Mode, a new TV setting that’s designed to show films as they were originally mastered, with as little post-processing as possible. Although the mode will affect multiple settings like frame rate, aspect ratio, overscanning, and noise reduction, its most important element is that it turns off motion smoothing.
Sony announces super fast A6600 and A6100 mirrorless cameras
I know they’re completely different classes of camera, but I have to think there are some vloggers out there who impulse-purchased the RX100 VII because it has a mic jack and eye-tracking autofocus and are kicking themselves a little bit right now. Cameron Faulkner has the details:
It also has Real-Time AF tracking and the new Real-Time Eye AF tracking that originally debuted in the A6400, which we reviewed earlier this year. Sony has added a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a first for the company’s alpha series of cameras.
Fossil ‘Gen 5’ smartwatch review: best of a Wear OS situation
I reviewed, and genuinely like, the Fossil Carlyle and would happily wear it every day. But that doesn’t mean I think you should buy it. It’s a cleaner, less-annoying software experience than a Galaxy Watch for non-Samsung owners, but $295 for Wear OS is not a good investment. Qualcomm’s 3100 processor has not been the smartwatch savior we were hoping for. I honestly have no idea where Google goes from here.
Fitbit announces the new Versa 2 smartwatch, and the affordable Aria Air smart scale
It figures: mere hours after I posted a review of the Fossil Gen 5 Wear OS watch, Fitbit announces the Versa 2. It still doesn’t look great to me, but hopefully it’s nicer in person than it is in pictures. I’m also hoping that Fitbit put a little more work into the software and the more traditional “smartwatch stuff,” on top of its fitness features. Android users have really stark choices when it comes to smartwatches. It’s a market that’s just sitting there, waiting to be taken.
At this point Google should just release this thing: Pixel 4 allegedly appears in photos leaked on Telegram
Apple Music for Android beta brings Chromecast support - 9to5Google
Think about this for a minute: Apple is trying way harder to make a good music app on Android than Google is right now.
Comments
the summary table is a bit confusing, for Apple it’s already showing the situation after the promised update, right?
By echomrg on 08.29.19 7:30am
From the article:
By boss.king on 08.29.19 7:35am
Still confused. Then what was the problem?
By CoryDS on 08.29.19 8:16am
Now – They aren’t recording at all.
In future – You will be opt out by default.
By DrRoboDog on 08.29.19 8:56am
"Amazon and Google should follow Apple’s lead on the default opt-out. It’s not just fun to say, it’s a best privacy practice."
So Deiter in your eyes this now makes Apple way ahead, right?
If the default is now opt-out. Then that means everyones Siri requests can’t be used by Apple to help Siri get better. That’s what Apple is saying now. So if that is the case, then what happens when someone asks Siri for some information. But Siri fails to get the requested results, because she doesn’t have an answer for that specific question.
Now Deiter, if some others in the future ask roughly the same questions, and those users also have the opt-out option, then Apple cannot grow their knowledge database. The only way Apple can grow their knowledge database is when users opt-in.
Since the opt-in numbers are going to be extremely low. Then Apple’s knowledge database will ALWAYS put Siri in last place, especially in comparison to the other voice assistants.
If for some reason Apple’s knowledge database increases by a considerable amount in the future. Then Apple will be lying about not using their customers Siri recordings or data. Think about Deiter.
By sgodsell on 08.29.19 11:35pm
Well, yes. While you are technically correct.. this also means that user privacy is better. Sure.. Apple might not get as many opt-ins as the competitors, but at least the users will be 100% aware of it when they agree to recordings.
My grandparents wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to turn it off.. but if it is off from default, then no problem. If the phone asks if they want to opt-in (which I assume is a question that will be asked when turning on Siri the first time), they can make their own choice.
By Aleksander Hoff on 08.30.19 9:40am
Apple has officially placed Siri in last place, with no way to be equal in terms of smarts or knowledge, especially when compared to the other assistants.
How many of Apple’s customers are actually going to go back into the Siri settings and then set the option to opt-in. Yes Apple employees, please listen into my Siri recordings, so I can help you to improve Siri. Next to no one, is ever going to do that. Especially the way Apple has brainwashed their loyal sheep about privacy and security, and how it is very important to every one of Apples customer.
Now we cannot forget that only Apple employees can still listen into customers Siri recordings or data. They stopped 3rd party consultants or contractors from listening into your Siri recordings. So they reduced how many people can actually listen into your Siri data. So if Siri’s knowledge database continues to improve and grow, then we will know how and where Apple is getting the data to improve Siri’s knowledge database. In other words it’s just some smoke and mirrors, or just some words that everyone likes to hear about privacy and security. But at the end of the day Apple will still be using all their customers data to improve Siri’s knowledge database.
By sgodsell on 08.30.19 11:17am
Update: Apple is using computer generated Siri transcripts (text). So both Apple employees and its contractors can still view and use anything and everything that was said by ALL Siri users. Regardless of any opt out / in setting for the Siri voice recordings.
By sgodsell on 10.13.19 3:05pm
Don’t mind that dude; he’s one of the biggest online Apple troll.
By LeoMC on 08.30.19 3:52pm
The were recording before with no means of opting out, then the got caught and apologized and stopped recording, and soon they will be recording on an opt-in basis.
By boss.king on 08.29.19 11:04am
My brain hurts here. Please fix this sentence.
By TheIceNine on 08.29.19 8:18am
lol, no. The Samsung Galaxy Watch series has been the default for Android for years. Best smartwatch out there, IMHO. Why? Because it excels at tracking my walks, runs, etc… All my health activities that I care about. All the other stuff is useless fluff that I couldn’t care less about. My favorite part? The ability to buy anything anywhere that requires a credit card because of the MST chip. And they look good. Really really good (I have a Galaxy S3 Frontier). Battery lasting a week is icing on the cake. I can’t imagine any other watch that offers so much utility in such a good looking package.
By GalenEri on 08.29.19 8:20am
Ehhhh I don’t know if I’d say Samsung watches are the de facto choice either (though I very much disagree with Dieter’s comment that the Fitbit could be it) . There are a lot of us who don’t own Samsung devices (which just make the experience of using one of their watches less of a hassle) and who want Wear OS on a watch. Don’t get me wrong, the galaxy watches seem nice and all, but they’re not exactly an ANDROID watch.
By coldfuzion on 08.29.19 9:20am
I’ve used my Samsung watch with two different LG phones. It was just as easy to connect and configure as any other compatible device, and I haven’t had any major issues. It’d be a shame if people overlooked Samsung watches because they thought they were only for Samsung phones.
Having said that, the OP’s reasoning for Samsung being best was
If there were any reason to choose another watch over Fitbit, I don’t think fitness would be one of them…
By Johnny Socko on 08.29.19 11:38am
The experience is the same if you do, or do not have a Samsung phone. A hassle, until you get it setup. My personal favorite is needing 2 S-Pay apps, one for the watch, and one for the phone, that do not sync with each other.
By CoryDS on 08.29.19 12:31pm
I live in a big city and use public transit. Everyday, if aI see 100 people who wear Apple Watches, I also see about 5 Fitbit owners. During all those years that we have had smart watches, I’ve only seen a Galaxy Watch on a Best Buy display. I don’t know if we can call such a niche product default.
By I am not Spartacus on 08.29.19 10:02am
Bubbles. If its not a apple watch its a Samsung watch for me in Houston.
By CoryDS on 08.29.19 12:33pm
I see maybe 200+ Apple Watches a day. Maybe 10 Android watches in the mix. Same rough ratio in any urban area I’ve ever been in. Just seems to be that the Apple Watch is so, so far ahead of anything else in terms of sales, usage, mindshare, popularity, etc.
By MJ2k18 on 08.29.19 12:33pm
Well, Fitbit did sell more units than Samsung in 2018… so I don’t know about "lol"ing the suggestion just because you like one more than the other.
By CrabbyCrabberson on 08.29.19 11:26am
As for Siri, Apple only changed their policy after they were caught with their pants down. Before then, it was privacy this, privacy that. Tim Cook even went to the European Union to excoriate his rivals on their lack of privacy. Maybe the United Nations was next, who knows. Now, they reek of hypocrisy. All this makes you wonder: What else are they doing with your information that hasn’t come to light yet? Will there be more apologies in Apple’s future?
By GalenEri on 08.29.19 8:28am
This. Dieter is applauding a response that only occurred after they were caught doing exactly what they marketed against. Weird take, but okay.
By Doctor Ferdinand on 08.29.19 9:35am
Anyone that didn’t think someone was listening to clips to improve a virtual assistant (any virtual assistant) is either naive or doesn’t understand how a system like that can be effectively improved. You can’t use an AI to grade another AI accurately. Apple’s massive blunder was not creating an Opt-In and being transparent of what they were doing and why they were doing it. This was not a privacy issue — it’s a transparency issue. I’m not saying that’s better, but at least it’s a more accurate description. The third parties used were not leveraging the information beyond the work they were contracted to do. A contracted employee scanning the clips can just as easily break an NDA about what they hear as an in-house employee can, so I don’t see where one is more of a privacy issue than the other — again, the lack of transparency that it was happening is the issue. There was no leak, there was not an instance of data being taken off users phones (all clips were "aggressively anonymized" and provided by Apple, just like any other work provided to a contractor). The conflation that this amounts to a privacy issue rather than a transparency issue for a system that actively listens constantly for wake words is disingenuous.
With all that said, I’m really glad they got caught. They absolutely need to be more forthcoming with these processes. Apple has a very stupid take on keeping many behind the scenes processes a secret to (ironically) prevent leaks, but the use of that tactic here is assinine since it’s a process every single other assistant uses. There wasn’t a secret that needed keeping. I hope this signifies a company-wide change towards more transparency going forward but we will have to see. Their track record for beeing secretive is long and full of holes.
I’m not defending Apple’s actions, I’m not even praising their new position (until I see it in action), just calling a spade a spade. This was a transparency issue.
By websnap on 08.29.19 10:00am
Wow, look. A well thought out, rational, factual response. You have my respect.
And yes, very true. I can’t wrap my mind against people who fundamentally have a problem with human beings listening to recordings of virtual assistant interactions. How else are you supposed to understand what the hell is going on, and where improvements can be made? At least the info is completely anonymized in Apple’s case, and that their business model does not depend on monetizing that data. THAT is the major differentiator. Listening to samples is not inherently wrong. And I agree that Apple should have been transparent about this, because it was bound to come out at one point or another. And this has NOTHING to do with privacy, as you said.
By MJ2k18 on 08.29.19 12:43pm
Yeah, it’s not an absolution of what they did, but if you are going to call them out on their errors, get the errors correct. I know it’s fun for those who hate Apple to try to catch them in some sort of marketing lie, but that’s not this. Especially those pointing at the billboard — literally nothing was taken off your phone and as a device, the iPhone is still rock-solid secure.
The transparency issue is legit though and they have a lot of work ahead of them — both in the form of features and enhancements but in goodwill to the user as well.
By websnap on 08.29.19 2:51pm
"Anyone that didn’t think someone was listening to clips to improve a virtual assistant (any virtualassistant) is either naive or doesn’t understand how a system like that can be effectively improved."
So it’s OK for Apple to obfuscate the truth, it’s the fault of those imbeciles who trusted the Apple name over things they personally had no real understanding of, such as cutting edge technologies outside their own realm.
By merlotisred on 08.30.19 3:24am