Apple say a “small portion” of iPhones recorded interactions with Siri and they had it on file, even if you had opted out of allowing it.
The release of the iOS 15.4 beta 2 fixes a bug that may have recorded your interactions with Siri on some devices, though Apple are remaining tight-lipped on exactly what those devices are or when it happened.
The bug started in iOS 15. It automatically enabled the Improve Siri & Dictation setting that gives Apple permission to record, store and review your chats with Siri.
Apple stress they have deleted all recordings they collected due to the bug.
After they became aware of the situation, they reportedly turned off the feature for “many” users when they released iOS 15.2, and fully fixed the flaw in the second beta of iOS 15.4.
In a statement, Apple say, “With iOS 15.2, we turned off the Improve Siri & Dictation setting for many Siri users while we fixed a bug introduced with iOS 15.
“This bug inadvertently enabled the setting for a small portion of devices. Since identifying the bug, we stopped reviewing and are deleting audio received from all affected devices.”