Google has announced that the transcribing practices of the Google Assistant are being reviewed and changed, keeping in view the user’s data privacy concerns. Lately, there have been several controversies regarding user data privacy breach.
The search engine giant said last Monday that the Google Home users have to re-confirm their audio activity settings. Google further added that when users participate in the voice assistant audio activity, then other people can listen to some audio recordings.
Google Vows to Limit Voice Data Usage from Google Assistant-enabled Devices
The Google Assistant Senior Manager NICO Tasca issued an apology statement clearing that the company fell short in making users understand how their data is used. In the recent past, the tech giant has received backlash for user data misuse and security breach. The Change in policy is a step to re-affirm the customers that the company is addressing their concerns.
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Users Can Choose to Opt-In for Voice and Audio Activity
Google has again said that it never keeps any audio recordings of the Voice assistants with Google Home devices or other gadgets. It will also give users a choice to opt for the Voice and Audio activity. This way the recordings can be sent to reviewers for speech recognition enhancements. When users choose for Voice and Audio Activity, then the assistant can familiarise with their voices and also helps enhance the assistant’s overall capability to understand accents and languages.
Action as a Consequence of Recent Backlash
The tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google use the transcription of audio conversations with voice assistants for enhancing speech technology. However, after recent uproar regarding user data safety and privacy, these companies have changed their policies.
Transcribing Enhances Voice Assistants Capabilities
Google, however, says that the transcribing of voice communication with the Google assistant enabled devices like Google Home, help in developing the speech capabilities of the assistant. The company is now changing its processes and would keep users informed how their data is used. It further adds that the settings will be available to minimize unintentional activation and delete old recordings,
The company will continuously upgrade its policies to safeguard user data.