The IPhone has a new privacy vulnerability, this time on Siri

Apple will likely record, store, and view conversations between users and Siri. This vulnerability has now been fixed.

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Author | Dong Zibo

According to extranet reports, Apple admitted that there is a vulnerability in iOS 15. This vulnerability may have recorded user interactions with Siri on some devices, regardless of whether the user chose to turn it on. It lets the iPhone automatically enable the "Improve Siri and Dictation" setting — which allows Apple to record, store, and view user conversations with Siri.

Apple said it discovered the vulnerability shortly after the release of iOS15 and immediately stopped analyzing illegally collected recordings. It is reported that the deletion of these recordings is still underway. After discovering the vulnerability, Apple turned off many of the affected features for many users when it released iOS 15.2 and made urgent adjustments to the settings.

Because of this, when installing the new iOS 15.4, the IPhone will also specifically ask the user whether to turn on the "Improve Siri and Dictation" function.

"In iOS 15.2, we turned off improved Siri and dictation settings for many Siri users, and we fixed bugs from the iOS15 update," Apple spokeswoman Catherine Franklin said in a statement. "This error inadvertently enables the settings of a small subset of devices. Since the bug was discovered, we stopped reviewing and removed all audio received as a result of the vulnerability. ”

For Apple, this is a fairly serious privacy breach. Apple should notify affected users and remind them to update the operating system of their iPhone as soon as possible. According to Apple's statement, many important questions remain unknown, such as: How many users have been affected? When did the collection of privacy begin?

This privacy loophole, the statement given by Apple is obviously not transparent enough. Although they said they had stopped analyzing user privacy, the truth was still hidden in a "black box" and no one knew if that privacy was recorded and monitored by Apple.

This privacy vulnerability was completely fixed in iOS 15.4, and for users who have not yet upgraded to iOS 15.2 or later, Apple confirms that it has stopped censoring recordings and continues to delete any private data they receive.

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