It is a well-known fact that companies use user generated data to supposedly “improve their services”. Many large corporations in the past have been rapped by authorities for not detailing how they deal with these data – and these include Google and Apple both.
Apple recently disclosed to Wired how long it keeps user data and for what purposes they use the data for after privacy advocates called on them to come clean about it. Apple spokesperson Trudy Miller while revealing the data quipped that Apple takes customer privacy very seriously. She also specifically revealed that Apple collects data from its voice driven service Siri.
This data is stored for up to two years on their servers before being discarded. Another reason they require this data on their servers is because Siri does most of its work online and it needs a functional Internet connection to operate. Apple added that each user is represented by a randomly generated number under which all his data is stored. The data storage is done in such a way that no personally identifiable information is stored. For example, the data stored does not correspond to the users email ID or Apple ID. Apple adds that six months after the saved clip stays in their servers, it is disassociated with the aforementioned randomly generated number. The clip alone however might stay on the servers for up to a period of two years. If a user however turns off Siri on their device the random number that identifies them is deleted as well – along with the data associated with it.
Due to the non-clarity of Apple on how they use data collated by Siri, there have been instances where usage of the software were barred by security conscious companies worried about data siphoning.
Anyway, Apple’s fresh revelation should come as a relief for many, we belief. What do you think?
