Apple has suspended access to Siri recordings for contractors following claims by a former worker that they "regularly" overheard confidential and intimate encounters, including drug deals and people having sex.

The revelation that contractors are hearing such recordings raised questions about Apple's commitment to privacy and its implementation of privacy designs.

The company's voice assistant service Siri records some messages in order to allow humans to help fine-tune its ability to take dictation.

Williamson interrupted by Siri

But The Guardian reported last week that workers were regularly hearing recordings of sensitive encounters, almost certainly without the iPhone users' informed consent.

Apple has now announced a global suspension of this quality control programme, which it said did not connect the user's Apple ID to the recordings of the Siri requests.


"We are committed to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy," the company said in a statement.

"While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading (quality control) globally.

"Additionally, as part of a future software update, users will have the ability to choose to participate in grading," it added.

Siri, Apple's voice assistant, allows users to work their iPhone with voice commands.

The device becomes active and starts recording when the iPhone hears the phrase "Hey, Siri", but reports suggest that it often mishears other phrases or even the sound of inanimate objects such as a zip to be triggered.

Last July the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson was "heckled" in parliament by the voice assistant while speaking to MPs.

Similar recordings are made by Amazon and Google's voice assistants, but Apple alone is yet to offer users the ability to opt-out of the quality control scheme.