Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Apple Just Gave 1.5 Billion iPad, iPhone Users A Reason To Leave

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordon...e-iphone-11-pro-max-update/#5f25848c46db

Apple has got a lot right recently, including its iPhone 12 pricing and its big iOS Coronavirus-focused update. But the company has also now given its 1.5 billion iPhone and iPad users worldwide a good reason to leave.

Last year, The Guardian broke a shocking story that Apple was employing contractors to listen to and ‘grade’ Siri recordings. This was done without users knowledge and contractors “regularly” heard confidential information from iPhone and iPad owners, including medical information, drug deals and recordings of couples having sex. Apple subsequently issued a full apology, admitting “we have not been fully living up to our high ideals.” But now, according to The Guardian’s whistleblower, we are learning that nothing has changed.

Revealing his identity for the first time, Thomas le Bonniec, a contractor employed to listen to and grade Siri recordings, has written to data protection regulators stating that Apple “keeps ignoring and violating fundamental rights and continues their massive collection of data.” Describing his role in detail, he writes:

“I listened to hundreds of recordings every day, from various Apple devices (eg. iPhones, Apple Watches, or iPads). These recordings were often taken outside of any activation of Siri, eg in the context of an actual intention from the user to activate it for a request. These processings were made without users being aware of it, and were gathered into datasets to correct the transcription of the recording made by the device.

“The recordings were not limited to the users of Apple devices, but also involved relatives, children, friends, colleagues, and whoever could be recorded by the device. The system recorded everything: names, addresses, messages, searches, arguments, background noises, films, and conversations. I heard people talking about their cancer, referring to dead relatives, religion, sexuality, pornography, politics, school, relationships, or drugs with no intention to activate Siri whatsoever.

“These practices are clearly at odds with the company’s ‘privacy-driven’ policies and should be urgently investigated by data protection authorities and Privacy watchdogs. With the current statement, I want to bring this issue to your attention, and also offer my cooperation to provide any element substantiating these facts. Although this case has already gone public, Apple has not been subject to any kind of investigation to the best of my knowledge.”

05/23 Update: adding further complexity to this issue, a new ruling has confirmed that the FBI cannot even look at the lockscreen of a suspect's iPhone without a warrant. Picked up by Ars Technica (PDF link), the new limitations restrict looking at a suspect's smartphone to just the arresting agents and only at the time of the arrest. All of which means privacy laws around technology are tightening rapidly and this is likely to have a significant impact on what can and cannot be extracted from your smartphone, even by its creator.

While Le Bonniec rounds primarily on Apple, he is also highly critical of the lack of action taken against Apple and big tech companies in general, saying “I am extremely concerned that [they] are basically wiretapping entire populations”.

It is important to note that Apple’s so-called wiretapping is not an isolated case. Amazon, Google and Facebook have admitted to similar practices but none trade on privacy as a selling point like Apple. In fact, the company’s Privacy Page declares “At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right.”

In Apple’s defence, while it gave users the ability to delete Siri recordings in iOS 13.2, the company did state that it planned to resume Siri monitoring after its release. That said, given the new accusations labelled by Le Bonniec, it is clear that further scrutiny is required. I have contacted Apple for a response to the new claims and will update this story when I get one.

In the meantime, I would advise all concerned iPhone and iPad owners to make the following changes: Settings > Privacy > Analytics & Improvement > Improve Siri & Dictation and check it is off, then Settings > Siri & Search > Siri History and tap ‘Delete Siri & Dictation History’. To enable further restrictions, such as revoking location tracking and third-party app integration with Siri, read Apple’s Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy page.

Surprised? Not I.. I wouldn't have that pos anywhere NEAR my house or areas... YMMV...

Today's generation seems to want all and every activity monitored.

Siri does not live here, there are no cameras on our computers, and my flip phone lives permanently atop the microwave in our kitchen.

It was hard enough when gov. made us start wearing seatbelts.It took forever for me to accept that one.

Yet they would not unlock a Terrorist iPhone. They make great stuff , I am not buying it anymore because they are favoring China over us.

This is how they improve SRI. I bet they record the voice and SIRI’s response without IDing the users. No big deal.

Gee, why don't I have an Iphone or an Alexa. Back in school we read 1984 and we were worried about Big Brother putting a camera in our houses and filming us.
Today, people pay money to install a Big Brother camera in their homes.

Many thanks, Lennie.

I Always enjoy your interesting posts.

Did you read this part of the article?



In plain English, "Siri" wasn't asked to listen to anything. See the sentence I put in bold.

If that doesn't cause you some concern, good luck.

Then again, I stay as far away from "Siri" and any other type of similar thing as I can.

Holy crap! You mean there's stuff you should read in the user agreement and Apple gives you the opportunity to opt out and they will give you a copy of your data and they give you control of your device and what the company is collecting or not collecting in an effort to make their product better?

Breaking news for sure! GMAFB.

Be smarter than your smart phone people.

One big reason I've never owned one of their proprietary software pieces of schit, nor will I ever.

In case you didn't know it, Apple has been spying on you for years. Used to catch grief from liberals I worked with in the IT industry for years for saying that.

You can restrict an iPhone mic rather easily. I worry more about Google who has much more invasive software.

They both should be broken up like Ma Bell was.

Just my opinion..................take it for what it's worth...................like everyone else's

PREZACTLY!!!

Ed Snowden told people what was going on many years ago. I'm quite certain the technology has advanced quite a bit since then.

Very much.

Just wait until the contact tracing functionality is built into the operating system.

There’s a thought !

I understand what you’re saying and why but consider phone tracking via cell towers even with certain things in the off mode.

Consider On Star even though you don’t subscribe.

Google
Amazon
Facebook

There ain’t no “safe “ place, smart or not so smart. As Steve Ballmer said many years ago in front of a Congressional Committee, “ when it comes to the net there is no privacy so get over it”.

I disagree..There hacking Iphones now without Apples help..The FBI just hacked one all by there self..The people at XDA can hack about everything in time..

Google phones,on the other hand, gives you a basic phone without the garbage the Iphone and others like Samsung and Verizon phones make you have that are un-delectable..I have an Ipad and it is good for some things but compared to my Google phone,it sucks...Root a Google phone and add whatever operating system you want,not so easy on an Iphone or Ipad yet they are hackable..