🍉 28. Bi, nonbinary, they/he/she. Fictional man objectifier, self-proclaimed DND expert, and 9S apologist. I reclaim the f slur. Sometimes NSFW. ENG | ESP OK
Hi Apple users, Apple released a fun thing where they take your photos and Siri transcripts and use them to train AI! And they may be automatically turned on without your knowledge, because oh boy they sure were for me!!!!!!!!!!!!
Open the “apps” section in your settings (it’s usually at the very bottom), go to photos and scroll until you see “Enhanced Visual Search” and then turn that shit off. Then go to “Privacy and Security”, scroll until you see “Analytics & Improvements”, and turn off “Improve Siri & Dictation” as well.
I am an artist with hundreds upon hundreds of my artworks in my photo album. I also have plenty of photos with not only my own face, but the faces of my friends and my family. I do not appreciate that being used to train AI without my consent, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for others too.
I’m so tired of big companies.
EDIT: I made a mistake this feature isn’t used to train AI, but it does still take your photos to be analyzed by AI. This is a feature that was automatically turned on without notice, giving nobody the option to turn it off or on until they find it themselves.
These are actually not new features at all. Apple quietly rolled them out oversimplified explanations to prevent pushback, and since they did so before the rise of AI slop, it flew under the radar. I am glad that the current AI problem has made people more vigilant and things like this are finally being called out for the invasion of privacy they are. So let me explain what these features actually do.
The "Enhanced Visual Search" feature, as I understand it, is primarily for location-tagging photos of you based on landmarks in the background. It does not use your photos to train generative AI, but it does use AI analytics to match objects in your photo to a database of global locations to identify where the photo was taken, even if you have location-sharing and your phone's GPS turned off. So you probably DO want to turn it off to protect your privacy.
The "Improve Siri & Dictation" feature is also not exactly new, but I believe it was rolled out later than the feature above. When turned on, it allows apple to record anything you say to Siri, and uses AI analysis (at one time in combination with some humans for quality control, though maybe not anymore thanks to the tendency toward over reliance on AI these days) to process those recordings to improve your device's ability to understand you. Though they claim it's used exclusively for that purpose, recordings taken with this feature are still subject to data leaks like all other data your phone gathers, so it's up to you whether the convenience of an optimized dictation or AI assistant feature is worth the potential privacy risk.
On the topic of Siri, you should also probably go into your "Siri" settings, scroll down to "Apps" and click each one to turn off "Learn From This App" for any app you don't want to risk a privacy breach from—particularly banking, medical, credit, and password-keeping apps. You will have to do this for every individual app, including new apps when you download them because it is turned on by default. This feature allows Apple's proprietary AI, Siri, to transfer information between apps, analyze your usage (when and for what you use an app), and compile the data purportedly for categorization and app suggestion. But like the features above, it also carries risk.
You may have noticed that all of these features use AI, but it's important to note that they use AI Analytics, and NOT Generative AI. These are two very different things that frankly should not be lumped into the same category. AI Analytics is using computers to do what computers to best: process and categorize data. Generative AI is attempting to make computers do what only humans can do: create something new. The former saves countless man hours in tedious labor and reduced the error rate of that work. The latter is polluting fresh water and increasing energy costs to put human creatives out of work.
And that's not to say that AI analytics doesn't have its own drawbacks, the privacy concerns being the one this post is focused on. Since it allows massive amounts of data to be processed very quickly, it emboldens companies like Apple to collect as much data as possible without regard for the user's privacy.
When it comes to AI analytics features like the ones in this post, whether or not you disable them (because they're all enabled by default), depends on how you value your privacy, what you want to protect, and what you're willing to give away for the sake of greater convenience.
I've had all of these, as well as the entire Siri function, turned off for years (and they're still off, I checked, they're not being suddenly re-enabled without notice) bc I value my privacy more that any of these features. I want my phone to be a communication device and pocket search engine ONLY. Plus a few games that can be played without any service (fun fact if you put your phone on airplane mode it prevents ads from loading, but many mobile games are still fully functional).
However, if you travel a lot, or have a poor memory, maybe it would be worth it to you to have your phone be able to identify where a selfie was taken. If you're dyslexic, low vision, or have difficulty typing, then it may not seem like a big deal to sometimes be recorded if it means the dictation function is as accurate and effective as possible.
It's very good and valuable to know what your phone does and what it's taking from you, which is why I took the time to write out this run-down, but there's no need for fearmongering about AI and especially GenAI in features that don't use it (and I'm not saying this to harp on OP, they made an honest mistake and updated their post when they learned, but the original is still circulating--it could happen to anyone).
Don't get scared. Get educated. Turn off automatic updates and take the time to look up what the update changes before you decide to install it. (iPhone does turn automatic updates back on after a new update is installed, just a heads-up). Fumble through your settings, flipping switches on and off to see what they change. And remember that this advice isn't exclusive to Apple users. Most people have their smartphone within arm's reach a good portion of the day and night. It's worth it to take an afternoon to learn all that it does.
Elon Musk personally stepped in to unban the guys who posted pictures of my address and the inside of my apartment and then permanently banned my account for making a gay for pay joke yeah alright whatever man
Was driving with my grandmother and in broken English she says “no eyes… no nose… no face. Don’t trust.” To which I looked around wildly in search of this omen of ill portend.
Transphobia is about to be signed into law in the UK. We can fight this.
I am begging the UK trans community and its allies to attend the Mass Lobby at Parliament on June 25th, 11am-4pm, organised by Trans Solidarity Alliance.
Last year we broke the record for an LGBT+ mass lobby of Parliament. Will you help us break it again? Join us on 25th June 2026 to demand be
The new EHRC Code of Practice pushes trans people out of toilets, hospital wards, and community spaces. It normalises gender policing based on appearance and stereotypes. It becomes statutory guidance in the UK by the end of June.
Trans people are now legally their assigned gender at birth and must join gendered spaces accordingly, but if they are perceived as their lived gender, they can also be ejected from those spaces. The guidance says: either break the law, or don’t pass too well.
A mass lobby is where you invite your MP to discuss your concerns with you in-person. Ask your MP to:
Demand full parliamentary scrutiny, debate, and use their free vote on the EHRC Code of Practice.
Support any motions rejecting the EHRC guidance. As of June 4th, Labour MP Nadia Whittome has submitted a prayer motion - Early Day Motion 240.
Write to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities about our concerns
Your MP does not have to be an ally, they do not have to respond to your email for you to show up and greencard them (details below the cut.) What matters is that as many people as possible show up.
I cannot stress this enough: Showing up in person matters. It is much more effective than petitions, emails, and letters.
It is a horrible, stressful time, and I am so sorry if you're trans and live in the UK. But I was at last year's mass lobby and the line for greencarding alone stretched around the back gates. It was a record breaking mass lobby and made us impossible to ignore. Let's do even better this time. Details under the cut:
Worried about what to say?
Bring your personal worries about transphobia being signed into law, and trans friends being excluded from public spaces. You are a living person who deserves dignity. Remind your MP of that. You will also get guidance and brochures from Trans Solidarity Alliance that outlines our demands. This is mine from last year.
Money issues?
Trans Solidarity Alliance provides a travel bursary that you can sign up for via the link.
Got a refusal or no response from your MP?
Come anyway! You can request a same-day appointment with your MP through a process called greencarding. They will come and see you if they’re already in Parliament. Even if they don’t, they’re made acutely aware of your cause because you showed up in person. This is my greencard from last year.
Here is the EHRC Code of Practice in full. It's a tough read, but some highlights are:
Organisations can’t provide trans-inclusive, single-sex services, or they risk being sued for discrimination.
e.g. domestic violence support for women including trans women, men’s rugby group including trans men (12.68).
Trans people will have nowhere safe to pee.
If you’re a trans man, businesses can't allow you to pee in the men's, and you can also be ejected from women’s bathrooms if you’re perceived as a man. Vice versa for trans women. EHRC suggests a ‘third space’ bathroom, which is discriminatory and unworkable for most businesses. (13.130-133)
Sports organisations must exclude trans people from single-sex competitions (13.73).
A women’s only sports competition must exclude trans women because of their biological advantage or face potential lawsuits (13.74), but a trans man who has undergone testosterone treatment can also be excluded based on fairness rules (13.81).
Trans women are stripped of the legal definition of ‘lesbian’, and therefore no longer have legal protections if they’re discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. (2.50, 2.92).
Here is the Good Law Project's better explanation of the EHRC Code.
I have also made a PDF printout of QR codes for the government petition, email your MP tool, and mass lobby link to pass around your communities. DM me and I'll send it to you.
i genuinely encourage non black people to engage with this, who might be worried they can't because of the word "nigga" because they feel like it's overstepping. the only way it would be overstepping is saying it to me when ur not black, but please don't be afraid to engage with black art.
i kinda get annoyed when non black people police other non blacks on how to engage with black culture because it creates a problem where non black people avoid us all together which can be extremely isolating and create even MORE tension and overall being uneducated.
not now sweetie, mommy is watching how the massive girlbossification of female characters has led to the belief that weak and vulnerable female characters are badly written characters because apparently every woman needs to be outspoken and witty and snarky and brave in order to be considered “complex” and have any value in a piece of media!!
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