Apple is preparing to place a strong emphasis on user privacy as it rolls out a major upgrade to its virtual assistant Siri at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) scheduled for June.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, privacy will be one of the central themes of the announcement as Apple seeks to rebuild Siri’s relevance in the competitive artificial intelligence landscape.
Standalone Siri App on the Way
The company is expected to introduce Siri as a standalone application for the first time. The revamped version will be powered by Google’s Gemini AI model and will offer users a conversational chatbot experience similar to ChatGPT.
However, Apple intends to set itself apart from competitors by adopting stricter privacy protections. The new Siri is reportedly designed with tighter controls on how long user conversations and data can be stored or used.
Auto-Delete Conversations
One of the key privacy features being considered is an automatic chat deletion option. Users may be able to choose to have their conversations with Siri automatically deleted after 30 days, one year, or retained indefinitely a functionality similar to what is currently available in Apple’s Messages app.
Privacy as a Competitive Edge
Gurman reported that Apple executives plan to position the new Siri as a more privacy-friendly alternative to other AI chatbots in the market. This approach is expected to form a core part of the company’s messaging during the launch.
However, analysts suggest that Apple’s strong focus on privacy could also be used to offset some of Siri’s current performance shortcomings compared to rival AI tools. There are also indications that parts of the backend processing will still rely on Google’s infrastructure, raising questions about the full extent of Apple’s privacy control.
The upcoming relaunch is widely viewed as Apple’s most important opportunity yet to catch up in the fast-moving AI race, where it has trailed behind companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. By making privacy a major selling point, Apple hopes to appeal to users who are increasingly concerned about data security in artificial intelligence applications.
