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(Image source: Cult of Mac)
BY EVAN THOMAS
Siri is always happy to listen to you — and she’s got a good memory, too. Everything
you ask of Siri gets stored for two years on Apple’s servers.
Wired got Apple to explain its process Thursday. Your siri queries are assigned a random ID
number, not an email address or apple ID. After six months, that number is deleted,
but Apple keeps the voice files on hand for “product improvement purposes.”
That means schedule reminders, text message dictation and, of course, countless weather
queries are sitting somewhere on Apple’s servers.
(via Apple)
Siri’s storage has been on radars since this time last year. The American Civil Liberties
Union points out Apple has been effectively cataloging everything from the names of your
playlists to the names and relationships of the people in your address books, ever since
Siri arrived.
And as 9to5 mac points out: “Since Siri has only been around for two
years that means Apple should start deleting data later this year on the anniversary of
the launch of the iPhone 4S…”
It’s led some companies to shut down Siri as an industrial security risk. Last year,
IBM reps told MIT Technology Review they were banning Siri on interior networks to prevent
any possibility of losing sensitive information.
A writer for AppAdvice, says it’s really the only way to be sure.
“As a good rule of thumb, if you don’t want your voice and questions stored somewhere,
don’t use Siri.”