Microsoft contractors allegedly listened to audio from homes of Xbox users according to a new report. These contractors have access to audio recordings of Xbox owners home life according to a report from Vice. Xbox users who accidentally trigger Xbox voice commands also activate the storing of audio recordings by Microsoft which apparently contractors could hear.
According to the report, contractors hired by the Redmond-based tech giant listened to the recorded audio from Xbox users in order to enhance the voice command features of the gaming console. Although the audio was supposedly triggered by saying particular voice commands, other recordings were triggered accidentally or by mistake. As a result, Microsoft contractors could reportedly hear recordings of other things going on in the homes of Xbox owners.
Unfortunately, gamers have no idea this was happening. A former Microsoft contractor whose identity was held because of a non-disclosure agreement told Vice that Xbox commands came up first as an outlier then developed about half of what contractors are tasked to do. According to the contractor, they worked on Xbox audio between 2014 and 2015.
However, Microsoft Cortana was introduced to Xbox in 2016, and during that time, they hear kids trying to acquire in-game items. The contractor also revealed that the Xbox thins was a bit of a respite for them. It is usually about the same games, DLCs, commands. Eventually, Microsoft contractors got less accidental audio, but they could still get the unintentional snippet occasionally.
The Microsoft contractor also shared that most of the Xbox related stuff he could recall was unintentional activations with users telling Cortana No as they were apparently in the middle of a game doing their usual chit chat. For Xbox users concerned about their recorded audio file, they could delete the files themselves at the page allotted by the company.
In a statement to vice, the Redmond-based tech giant reportedly said that they have long been clear about collecting voice data to improve services that are voice-enabled. At times, these data are reviewed by contractors or vendors. Microsoft also said that it had updated its privacy statement recently to include greater clarity that people most of the time, review the data as part of the process of improving the product.
Further, the statement notes that it always obtains the permission of the customer before gathering voice data. Additionally, there are several steps that the company does to de-identify voice snippets that are being reviewed to protect the privacy of the users. Moreover, Microsoft entails that handling of this kind of data is regarded with the highest level of standards in terms of privacy and law.
