So What Does Apple Do With Your Siri Data?

According to a new report on Apple’s siri privacy policy Apple can hold the data for up to two years, however the data is anonymized to ensure peoples privacy isn’t infringed. So what does happen when you hold down the button and talk to Siri?

Apple generates a random number to represent the user and then associates that number with the voice files. This random number represents you on Siri’s back-end systems. It’s along similar lines to how a website generates a cookie for a user. A cookie is just a set of random digits that helps the server understand who is viewing the pages. What wasn’t mentioned is how the information is retrieved by the phone using this random number.  Like a web browser there is likely to be an association to the session on the phone, which is more than likely destroyed once the message has been played.

Once the voice recording is six months old Apple removes the random number from the voice file. However it keeps these disassociated files for up to 18 more months for testing and product improvement purposes.

As an ipad app developer in Los Angeles we’re hoping that Siri will be opened up further for developers. Voice activated applications along with Google Glass could be a way to remove the obligatory phone in hand we’re all used too and free our digits up.