How Apple Says it is Using Siri to Protect User Data

Apple remains committed to protecting user data.

The technology giant continues to build its products and features from the ground up with innovative privacy technologies and techniques to prioritise user safety. Privacy is integral to this design process, with Apple adopting data minimisation, on-device intelligence, transparency and control and security protections as principles to offer users experiences that are exciting - but also safe.

With this in mind, the company stated in January 2025 that Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy and is the most private digital assistant on the market to-date.

We take a look at how this is possible and how Apple continues to keep its users secure.

The security of on-device processing

Apple states that it has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, nor has it made it available for advertising.

“We are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private, and will continue to do so,” the company explains.

Instead, Siri is able to protect user data by using on-device processing where possible. The assistant is designed to do as much processing as possible on a user’s device, which enables personalised experiences without needing to transfer personal information across Apple servers.

Apple notes: “When a user talks or types to Siri, their request is processed on device whenever possible. 

“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.”

The contents of these messages is not transmitted to Apple servers because, according to Apple, it isn’t necessary to fulfill the request. Minimising the level of data collected for Siri requests is designed to bolster individual security for the user.

Although Apple attempts to do as much as possible on devices, certain features require real-time input from Apple servers. When that is the case, Apple states that Siri uses as little data as possible to deliver an accurate result. 

“Siri searches and requests are not associated with your Apple Account,” Apple explains. 

“A random identifier — a long string of letters and numbers associated with a single device — is used to keep track of data while it’s being processed, rather than tying it to a user’s identity through their Apple Account or phone number — a process that we believe is unique among digital assistants in use today.”

A new era of intelligence

The statement from Apple was made in response to rumours that it let advertisers target users based on Siri recordings.

“Apple has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising and never sold it to anyone for any purpose,” the statement reads.

The tech giant however did recently agree to pay US$95m to settle a lawsuit over users whose conversations were captured by its Siri voice assistant, which was potentially overhead by human employees.

In the preliminary settlement, Apple has denied any wrongdoing and states that Siri recording and disclosing information to third parties is false.

Looking ahead, Apple claims that it is at the start of a “new era” for Siri. It states that it will be offering users the ability to complete tasks effortlessly with built-in intelligence features that enable Siri to be more capable, personal and helpful.

“Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, many of the models that power Apple Intelligence run entirely on device,” the company says. “For Apple Intelligence requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of the iPhone into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence.”

The user’s data is not stored or made accessible to Apple when Siri uses Private Cloud Compute, with data being used only to fulfil the user’s request.

The company states: “We believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and we will continue our relentless focus on designing our products and services to protect it.”

Explore the latest edition of Technology Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Tech & AI LIVE.

Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.

Technology Magazine is a BizClik brand