Apple says it can’t access users’ raw audio from its new Audio Intelligence features.
Apple says it can’t access users’ raw audio from its new Audio Intelligence features.
At Wednesday’siPhone Duo launch event, Apple announced a handful of new Siri AIAudio Intelligence features, including Siri Recap, Live Rewind, Sound Recognition, and Music Recognition. Alongside its announcement, Applereleased a documentlaying out how it plans to balance AI “ambient listening” and users’ privacy. It says the raw audio from the new features “is handled within dedicated hardware, is not saved as a file, and is not accessible to the…
Apple explains that Audio Intelligence relies on the Secure Exclave in the S11 chip that powers the newApple Watch Series 12andApple Watch Ultra 4:
The S11 chip in Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 includes a Secure Exclave: a hardware-isolated compartment built into the silicon to process sensor data separately from the rest of the system. Data that is processed and analyzed in the Secure Exclave cannot be accessed by watchOS, apps, the user, or Apple. Audio from the microphone enters the Secure Exclave of Apple Watch, where it is initially processed for speech, sounds, or music…
Apple also says users control “whether and when” Audio Intelligence features are active — Live Rewind requires users to double-tap the Digital Crown every time they want to activate it. Additionally, if Audio Intelligence needs to be transferred to your iPhone, it’s transferred with encryption through both devices’ Secure Exclaves. Users also choose what text to keep from Siri Recap and Live Rewind, and text from Audio Intelligence will sync with…