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Microsoft has listened to audio recordings of Xbox users. A new report from the motherboard states that Microsoft's subcontractors listened to audio clips from Xbox users gathered from Kinect and Cortana.
Microsoft is the latest company to have listened to users' audio clips via their personal assistant. Apple, Google, and Facebook also admitted to listening to users' audio clips by using subcontractors, although they subsequently suspended the use of subcontractors as a result. media coverage.
The new report claims that Microsoft's subcontractors were able to listen to Xbox user recordings, which were used to improve the voice command system. Most of the voices they heard were apparently children and the contractor was paid $ 10 an hour for his work. They were also able to listen to voice clips indicating when the voice control systems were triggered by mistake. "Over time, we had fewer things seemingly accidental as the functionality improved," said a former subcontractor.
Following the Motherboard report, Microsoft has now tweaked its privacy policy to clarify how it uses real humans to examine users' voice recordings. "We have known for a long time that we collect voice data to improve voice services and that this data is sometimes reviewed by providers," said a spokesman for Microsoft.
Microsoft says the company is taking all possible measures to protect the privacy of the user.
"We always obtain the client's authorization before collecting voice data, we take steps to remove the identification of voice extracts examined to protect the privacy of individuals and we request that the processing of these data be in accordance with the standards. the strictest confidentiality of the law. At the same time, we are actively working on additional measures that we can take to give customers more transparency and more control over how their data is used to improve products, "said the company.
This may of course surprise many people, but this seems to be a general practice in the industry. This is of course always a great threat to the privacy of individuals, as many users are probably unaware that other humans are reviewing their voice recordings. However, Microsoft is not saying whether it will completely suspend the use of subcontractors to review your voice recordings collected from products such as Cortana.
Tagged Cortana, Kinect, Microsoft, Xbox
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