Privacy & Tech
Apple Just Reversed Its “We Don’t Need Your Data” Pledge for Siri AI
September 2026
For years, Apple's pitch on AI was simple: everyone else needs your data to train their models; Apple doesn't. On September 9, 2026, Apple quietly rolled back that promise in a documentation update. It didn't add a new opt-in screen — it expanded what an existing one is allowed to do. "Improve Siri & Dictation," the same toggle that's existed since a 2019 controversy over Apple employees reviewing Siri audio, now also lets Apple use those conversations to train its Foundation Models, not just to improve Siri the way it always has.
It's opt-in, not automatic. But the expanded scope, and the way it echoes a controversy Apple already went through once before, is worth understanding before you tap through the setup screen.
What actually changed
Sept 9, 2026
Apple documentation update expanding what the existing opt-in setting covers
2 options
"Share Audio and Text" or "Not Now" — shown when enabling Siri AI
Re-asked
even people who opted in under the old setting are prompted again
No Apple ID link
Apple says data is tied to a rotating, random device identifier instead
"Review personnel"
Apple's own phrase for who may see the data — role left unspecified
2019
the year Apple last had to apologize and backtrack over Siri audio review
What the opt-in screen actually says
The screen itself isn't new. "Improve Siri & Dictation" is the same opt-in Apple introduced back in 2019, and if you've set up or reformatted an iPhone anytime since, you've likely seen a version of it — a prompt asking whether you want to help improve Siri and Dictation by letting Apple collect and use your audio and text interactions. You can tap "Share Audio and Text" or "Not Now."
What's new is what saying yes now covers. Previously, that data only helped improve Siri, Dictation, and Translate directly. As of Apple's September 9, 2026 documentation update, it also feeds training for Apple's Foundation Models generally — a broader purpose than the one people originally agreed to. That's meaningful enough a change that Apple is re-prompting people who already opted in under the old terms, as part of setting up Siri AI in iOS 27, to give them the chance to reconsider.
Who's actually reading this, and how identifiable is it?
Apple's language here is careful. It says it "takes steps to ensure that personal data is not stored or used by Apple," and that opted-in data is tied to a random, device-generated identifier that rotates rather than your Apple Account or email. But the same policy acknowledges that some of this data — the audio specifically — "will only be listened to by Apple employees," and refers elsewhere to review by unspecified "review personnel," without clarifying whether that means in-house staff or an outside contracted company.
That ambiguity isn't new. It's close to the exact language Apple used in 2019, before a much bigger controversy over the same underlying practice.
This isn't the first time
2019
A Guardian investigation revealed that contractors working for Apple routinely listened to Siri recordings as part of a "grading" program — including recordings triggered accidentally, capturing private medical details, business calls, and intimate moments. Apple apologized, suspended human grading entirely, and rebuilt the program around explicit opt-in consent, restricting review to Apple employees rather than outside contractors.
2020-2025
Apple leaned hard into "we don't need your data" as a competitive difference from Google and Meta, building much of its AI messaging around on-device processing and differential privacy — techniques designed to learn from patterns across many users without exposing any individual's actual data.
September 9-14, 2026
Apple updates its documentation to extend the long-standing "Improve Siri & Dictation" setting from "improve Siri" to also "train Apple's Foundation Models" — a broader purpose than before, using much the same "review personnel may see this" language as 2019. The re-consent prompt then surfaces as part of setting up Siri AI when iOS 27 ships days later.
How to opt out (or double-check you already have)
- Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements
- Turn off "Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence"
- Fastest route: search "Improve Siri" directly in the Settings app search bar
- Repeat separately on Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV if you use Siri on those devices — the setting isn't shared across them
Why we're paying attention to this one
We've written before about Apple betting on on-device AI as the industry's clearest validation of the approach we build around. This doesn't undo that — Apple Intelligence still runs most processing on-device or through Private Cloud Compute, and this new setting is opt-in, not default. But it's a reminder that "privacy-focused" and "will never ask for your data" aren't the same promise. Apple was making the second promise for years. It just stopped.
It's exactly why we build our apps around not needing that choice to be offered to you in the first place — there's no toggle to reconsider later, because there was never an upload step for your audio or text to travel through.
Frequently asked questions
What changed in iOS 27's privacy policy?
Apple expanded the scope of an existing opt-in setting, "Improve Siri & Dictation," which has let Apple collect Siri audio and transcripts since a 2019 controversy over human review of that audio. Apple updated its documentation on September 9, 2026 to say the same setting now also covers using that data to train its Foundation Models, on top of its original purpose of improving Siri and Dictation directly. Previously, Apple maintained it didn't need customer data to make Siri AI work well.
Do I have to opt in?
No. The prompt itself, titled "Improve Siri & Dictation," isn't new — it's existed since 2019 — but it now covers a broader purpose. It offers two choices: "Share Audio and Text" or "Not Now." Even people who previously opted in under the old terms are asked again, since the data will now also be used for Foundation Model training rather than only Siri improvements.
Who actually reviews the data if I opt in?
Apple's policy refers to review by unspecified "review personnel," without clarifying whether that means Apple employees or an outside contracted company, which is how audio review was historically handled before Apple's 2019 Siri grading controversy. Apple says the data is tied to a random, device-generated identifier that rotates periodically rather than to your Apple Account.
How do I turn this off?
Go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Analytics & Improvements, and turn off "Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence." You can search "Improve Siri" in the Settings app to jump straight to it. This can be turned off on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV separately.
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