Earlier this year, Apple came under some criticism following a report by The Guardian that detailed how Apple hired third-party contractors to listen to a select number of Siri recordings. Although the recordings were technically anonymized, contractors picked up on voice recordings that captured data such as private medical information, drug deals, and couples in the bedroom. This was particularly noticed when Siri was inadvertently triggered by something in the environment that sounded enough like the Siri wake word for the microphone to start listening.
In response to this revelation, Apple suspended the program and promised that it would introduce options in a forthcoming update that would allow users to opt out of sharing their audio recordings and Protect their privacyWith the release of iOS and iPadOS 13.2 and macOS 10.15.1, it is now possible to delete your Siri audio history from Apple’s servers, as well as opt out of future analytics of your Siri interactions.
When you installed the updates, you should’ve been presented with a prompt that gave you the choice of whether or not you would like to help improve Siri and Dictation by sharing your interactions with the assistant. If you chose to allow this, you can opt out later using the following steps.
iOS and iPadOS
Note: if you’re usingVoiceOver,whenever this guide says to, “Tap,” perform a one-finger double tap instead.
To delete your Siri audio history from an iOS or iPadOS device, go to Settings > Siri & Search and tap Siri & Dictation history. Tap delete Siri & Dictation history and tap once again in the confirmation screen. As your device states, a request will then be sent to Apple to remove existing audio recordings from their servers.
To opt out of analytics of future Siri interactions, go to Settings > Privacy > Analytics and improvements, and, if it is on, toggle, “Improve Siri & Dictation,” off.
macOS
Note: if you’re using VoiceOver, whenever this guide says to, “Click,” press VO Space instead.
To delete your Siri audio history on a Mac, go to System Preferences > Siri, and click delete Siri & Dictation history. Click delete in the confirmation dialog, and a request will be sent to Apple’s servers.
To opt out of future analytics of Siri interactions, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy, and click the privacy tab. Select analytics and improvements in the table, and if it is checked, uncheck the, “Improve Siri & Dictation,” checkbox.
Note: if you’re using VoiceOver, you may need to interact with the table cell using VO Shift Down Arrow to focus on and deselect the checkbox.
If you have any questions or suggestions for future tips, sound off in the comments.