Apple and Android warning after concerns raised over virtual assistants ‘recording everything you say’

VIRTUAL assistants like Siri and Alexa may be listening to more than just quick commands. Your device could be recording everything while waiting to hear you say “Hey Siri”. Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant have wowed users with their quick ability to answer trivia questions or access calendars. But without changing the default settings users […]

VIRTUAL assistants like Siri and Alexa may be listening to more than just quick commands.

Your device could be recording everything while waiting to hear you say “Hey Siri”.

Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant have wowed users with their quick ability to answer trivia questions or access calendars.

But without changing the default settings users could find themselves under constant surveillance.

A whistleblower told The Guardian that Apple devices hear more than they should, including confidential interactions.

Each device or app has a different method for opting out of being recorded – here’s how to unplug the mic.

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To shut down Siri’s constant recording, go to the Settings app.

Go into the “Siri & Search” folder and toggle off Listen for “Hey Siri” with a single tap.

You can also turn off Siri entirely by toggling off the Press Side Button for Siri.

To delete your past Siri correspondence, click Siri & Dictation history below the two top toggles, and hit delete.

Google Assistant’s settings are slightly more buried.

On the Google Pixel, under Settings for Google apps, you’ll find the Assistant and Voice tab.

Select it, then click Google & Voice Match and turn off the Hey Google switch.

Alexa, one of Amazon’s flagship products, is not platformed by a device the way Siri and Google Assistant are – it’s added by choice as an app.

You can change Alexa’s recording options in the app under the folder Alexa Privacy.

Users have the option of setting a time frame for their voice recordings to be scrapped or to shut down the saving process entirely.

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Big tech companies use collected data to improve the quality of the software.

But some argue being used as a resource to improve products should be a choice, not the default.