Apple Details Privacy Protections for New Siri Audio Intelligence Features
Apple says new Siri audio features process raw audio in hardware without saving or exposing it to apps or Apple.
The document says Audio Intelligence relies on the Secure Exclave in the S11 chip that powers the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. Apple describes the Secure Exclave as 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, according to the document.
Audio from the microphone enters the Secure Exclave of Apple Watch, where it is initially processed for speech, sounds, or music without transcribing or storing the raw audio. Apple says this buffer is a continuously overwritten stream that exists only within the protected hardware and never creates an audio recording.
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. If Audio Intelligence needs to be transferred to an iPhone, it is transferred with encryption through both devices' Secure Exclaves.
Users choose what text to keep from Siri Recap and Live Rewind, Apple says. Text from Audio Intelligence will sync with end-to-end encryption if the user has a device passcode and uses iCloud's two-factor authentication.
The document was released alongside the announcement and focuses on how the new listening features can operate without giving Apple or third-party apps access to raw microphone audio. The Verge reported that Apple says it cannot access users' raw audio from the new Audio Intelligence features.