Apple has laid out its data protection measures for voice assistant Siri following a US$95m settlement over privacy concerns.
The tech giant has drilled down on how it aims to enhance privacy controls with Siri, positioning the voice assistant as a privacy-first digital assistant platform. It states that Siri processes user requests on-device where feasible, reducing data transmission to external servers.
This approach to data handling differs from market alternatives which typically process voice commands through cloud infrastructure.
“When a user talks or types to Siri, their request is processed on device whenever possible,” Apple states in its January 2025 announcement. “For example, when a user asks Siri to read unread messages, or when Siri provides suggestions through widgets and Siri search, the processing is done on the user’s device.”
Such a process is designed to limit data collection and transmission, which is critical for enterprise customers managing sensitive information through voice interfaces.
Private Cloud Compute supports on-device processing
Apple has emphasised that message content remains on users’ devices rather than transmitting to Apple servers. This data minimisation strategy aims to enhance individual user security.
“We are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private, and will continue to do so,” the company explains.
