Google makes changes to how much audio it will save for human review

If you remember, earlier this year Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft were caught listening to voice assistant recordings. All the companies previously stated that the recordings were analysed to improve the service but forgot to mention that actual humans were listening to those. After getting caught with their pants down, everyone except Microsoft decided to change their policies and Apple even took the extreme step of firing all their contractors.

Now, Google has come out and revealed that they are going to cut down on the amount of audio they save for human review. The company will still be using humans to review the audio files but will explicitly tell users so they can opt-out if they want. Google is also making changes to the “Okay Google” keyword and is reducing sensitivity to eliminate accidental triggers.

The new settings will be under the “Voice & Audio Activity” settings and will allow users to opt-in if they want humans to review the audio files. Google has also promised to reduce the data they store on their servers and will delete old audio files.

Personally, I think Google and Amazon are doing a great job of allowing users to control if they want to opt-in. While Apple is doing the same, it still lacks a central hub where users can see all the related settings and adjust them accordingly.