mic on keyboard - is it private?

[joflo723]

Does the mic on the keyboard that you can use for texting, emails, in apps, etc, go to Apple's server like Siri does? Just wondering if using it compromises any privacy. I didn't think it did, but earlier when Siri wasn't working ("I'm sorry, I'm having trouble connecting to the network"), the mic in the keyboard was also not working...which made me think...maybe they both go through the server. ??

 

[dccorona]

Yes, it goes through the server. They said so in the keynote. I guess it comes down to whether or not you trust apple. I do, it's not a big deal to me. The texts are stored on your carriers servers anyway

 

[joflo723]

Yes, it goes through the server. They said so in the keynote. I guess it comes down to whether or not you trust apple. I do, it's not a big deal to me. The texts are stored on your carriers servers anyway

Ok thanks for that info. That's a lot of analytics going on!

 

[Hammie]

Don't you guys watch Person of Interest?? The Government reads and tracks all conversations anyway.

 

[kalt]

Actually whether you trust apple is irrelevant. The question is whether you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a conversation you know is being copied to, and read by, a third party. I think the answer to that is probably no as a matter of law. Or, at the very least, the government prosecutors will successfully argue that you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy in your typings sent to Apple and read by Apple, and thus the government doesn't even need a warrant to listen in (i.e. get copies of that data).

The government can and will demand Apple turn over certain conversations, and Apple will happily oblige (there's a nice tax cut for companies who quietly comply and a nice big audit for companies who complain). I assure you this is already going on. With the advent of Siri, and its central-server processing of all voice transcriptions, the government just got a HUGE new source of domestic intelligence. Oh and yes, IAAL.

So, ironically, the more people are aware of the fact their data is being copied to Apple's main servers, the less of an expectation of privacy we have in said data.