Apple has hit back at claims that its voice assistant Siri is recording conversations without user permission.
In a reply to US lawmakers issued late last night, Apple said that its iPhones require users to give microphone access to Siri and third-party apps, with it being clearly stated if an app is listening at any time.
A number of US representatives wrote to chief executive Tim Cook, as well as Alphabet's top boss Larry Page, over concerns in reports that smartphones collect audio information from conversations near a smartphone via so-called trigger phrases, such as "Hey Siri" or "Okay Google".
Cook wrote that Siri does not record audio while listening for a trigger command, nor does it share spoken words.
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The UK's defence minister Gavin Williamson's iPhone was triggered recently while giving a statement on Isis to the House of Commons, sparking fears that Apple might be recording sensitive information.
Siri was clearly heard replying to Williamson at the time, saying: "I found something on the web for 'Syrian democratic forces supported by premonition'," confusing the term "coalition" for "premonition" while in Williamson's pocket.
Amazon experienced similar scrutiny earlier this year, after its Alexa assistant recorded a private conversation between a couple in their home and sent it in a text to a friend found in their contacts.
Read more: DEBATE: Are we too complacent about AI like Alexa in our lives?
It is not known whether Alphabet has replied to the representatives' letter, although a spokesperson for the Republican side on the US house energy and commerce committee said "both companies have been cooperative so far".
However Apple warned that it was not responsible for what developers do with the data they receive permission to record from users, and declined to say whether they had ever banned a developer over privacy violations.
"Apple does not and cannot monitor what developers do with the customer data they have collected, or prevent the onward transfer of that data, nor do we have the ability to ensure a developers compliance with their own privacy policies or local law," the company wrote in its letter, seen by Reuters.
Apple said it rejects an average of 36 per cent of the apps submitted to its app store each week over violations of its guidelines.
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