Enable Dictation Privacy Concerns Apple 8.3

melissafromwf wrote:

Is anyone struggling with the new "Enable Dictation" feature when you upgrade to 8.3 on iPhone? I just upgraded and found that in order to use the microphone on my keyboard I have to enable dictation, which includes a new privacy policy, stating that all my voice recordings, including instructions to SIRI are sent to Apple for processing… which is for the assistance with the Apple Watch that I am not planning to buy… Does anyone else have concerns about this? How about concerns about HIPPA should you be sending a voice dictated text or email to your physician? How about if you are a physician and dictate notes on the notepad?

The privacy policy is not new. What is new is the ability to enable or disable dictation separately from Siri. The fact that the processing of natural language speech-to-text is done on Apple's servers (and always has been) has absolutely nothing to do with the Apple Watch. The iPhone simply does not have the computing power to handle speech-to-text on its own.

I don't believe that HIPAA in any way restricts what a patient can do with their own information. If you are a physician or other medical professional, you should consult your lawyer, in-house counsel for your hospital or the relevant professional organization for guidance.

melissafromwf wrote:

When I go to General, Keyboard, Enable Dictation, the privacy policy shows up and specifically says in the fist paragraph:

"When you use Siri and Dictation the things you say and dictate will be recored and sent to Apple to process your requests. Your device will also send Apple other information such as your name, nickname; the names, nicknames, and relationship with you (e.g., "my dad") of your address book contacts, song names in your collection and HomeKit-enabled devices in your home (e.g., "living room lights") (collectively your "User Data"). All of this data is used to help Siri and Dictation on your iOS device and paired Apple Watch understand you better and recognize what you say. It is not linked to other data that Apple may have your or use of other Apple services."

The privacy policy was updated to include the Apple Watch as the Apple Watch is connected to the iPhone. But the rest of the policy is pretty much the same as it has always been since Siri was released. The only addition I see is "and paired Apple Watch". The fact that, when you use dictation, information is sent to Apple has been true since Siri and dictation was released. The Apple Watch has not changed that. The only difference is that now, if you have an Apple Watch, you may also be using it for dictation.

As the data is not connected with any other data Apple may have from me, personally, I'm not concerned. But, everyone should make that decision for themselves. That's why users have to agree to the policy. I'm far more concerned about what Google might be reading in my emails I send to, well, anyone. They read emails for advertising purposes.