Read this before you buy iPhone 16: AI-smart Siri comes with serious privacy concerns

If you prefer an iPhone to an Android-based phone because it offers more privacy, there’s something you should know before upgrading to the iPhone 16.

Apple Intelligence is here. It’s still very much a work in progress, as early adopters test new features, but it is here. AI features will likely be the main selling point when new Apple devices arrive since none of the older models, except the iPhone 15, will support Apple Intelligence.

In addition to the ability to summarize texts, prioritize emails, simplify image search, and personalize emojis, buyers will also be getting a smart Siri, who can finally maintain conversations with context and is easier to talk to.

Eventually, Siri will be able to take action regarding users’ content – add new contacts to the address book upon request, forward pictures to people in the contact list, and perform other personalized tasks.

“For example, a user can say, “Play that podcast that Jamie recommended,” and Siri will locate and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in a text or an email,” Apple said.

Many tasks will be performed on the device, ensuring users’ privacy. Some more complicated jobs, such as image generation or summarizing texts, will require devices to connect to a larger server-based language model.

However, the fact that some personal data will leave smartphones shouldn’t be too worrying, as Apple said that no one, even Cupertino iGeeks, would be able to access that data.

But the new Siri will also be ChatGPT-smart – it will try to tap into ChatGPT’s expertise “when helpful.”

Siri allegedly will always ask users whether it’s OK to tap into ChatGPT and send ​​files to it. Still, experts are slightly worried about the overall ChatGPT integration.

“While Apple claims that OpenAI won’t store requests unless the user links their account, offloading tasks to external servers may concern users and prompt them to become wary of losing control over their data,” Ash Shatrieh, F-Secure’s threat intelligence researcher, told Cybernews.

After years of data exploitation reports by other big tech firms, users have a right to be skeptical.

While Apple is seen as a privacy-preserving company, OpenAI has earned quite the opposite reputation with ChatGPT. Some big corporations deem it NSFW due to various data leaks, a “memory” feature, and the exposure of credit card details, among other privacy issues.

“There is hope that Apple’s privacy-focused AI approach could set a new standard in the industry. But, while I trust Apple AI for its privacy safeguards, I’m cautious about using the ChatGPT integration, given its controversy around privacy, until more details are available,” said Shatrieh.

Emanuelis Norbutas, an AI strategist, emphasized that Siri heavily relies on local processing, minimizing how much user data ever leaves the device. At the same time, leveraging advanced cloud-based models, like ChatGPT, can offer powerful AI capabilities, provided Apple enforces end-to-end encryption and short data retention windows.

“At the same time, leveraging advanced cloud-based models, like ChatGPT, can offer powerful AI capabilities, provided Apple enforces end-to-end encryption and short data retention windows. The two main questions that arise from this are how Apple will strike a balance that ensures both robust personalization and strong encryption with ephemeral data handling, and what tangible benefits they will provide if local processing alone isn’t sufficient,” Norbutas told Cybernews.