Improve Siri & Dictation

Apple’s privacy page says that if you opt in, Apple may store the audio of your interactions with Siri and Dictation. That audio, along with transcripts and related request data, may be used to develop and improve Siri, Dictation, Search and limited other language processing features such as Translate and Voice Control.

The request history is associated with a random, device-generated identifier that rotates multiple times per hour and is not tied to your Apple Account or email address. Apple says it may retain and use the data for up to two years, and that the small subset of interactions that has been reviewed may be kept beyond two years.

• Audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions.
• Transcripts, including your request and the response Siri gave.
• Related request data, such as the category of request, device specifications and performance statistics.
• The approximate location of your device at the time of the request.
• Audio, text input and transcripts of Translate requests, which the same setting covers.

The switch sits with the other analytics choices, not in Keyboard or Siri settings. Turning it off stops Apple from storing new audio from this Mac. Apple notes that the setting is per device, so check your other devices as well.

1. 01 Choose Apple menu, then System Settings.
2. 02 Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
3. 03 Go to Analytics & Improvements.
4. 04 Turn off Improve Siri & Dictation.
5. 05 If you also want to remove what was already shared, delete your Siri and Dictation history as described in the next section.

Apple’s Mac User Guide for macOS Tahoe 26 says you can delete request history, both audio recordings and transcripts, that is associated with a random identifier and less than six months old. You must be connected to the internet to do it.

Deleting history does not change your choice about sharing audio recordings, so turn the setting off first if that is what you want. The steps below are from Apple’s guide for macOS 26. On macOS 27 the sidebar item is named Siri, so look for the button in Siri settings.

1. 01 Connect your Mac to the internet.
2. 02 Open System Settings.
3. 03 Click Apple Intelligence & Siri, or Siri, in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
4. 04 Click Delete Siri & Dictation History.
5. 05 Click Delete to confirm.

With the setting off, Apple says your audio data is not stored by Apple. That is not the same as nothing being sent. If your dictation is not processed on the device, the things you dictate are still sent to and processed on Apple’s servers, but they are not stored unless you opt in.

Apple’s Siri, Dictation & Privacy page also says Apple stores related request data by default, such as the category of request, device specifications and performance statistics. Request history, which includes transcripts and related request data, may be retained for up to two years under a random identifier, and Apple may review a subset of Siri transcripts.

A history of your Siri and Dictation interactions is also kept on your device. Apple says that if you turn off both Siri and Dictation, the transcripts stored on your device and used to personalize your experience are deleted.

Apple’s terms are specific about who can hear recordings. A subset of the data may be reviewed by graders, and audio review is conducted only by Apple employees, who are subject to strict confidentiality obligations. Depending on the request, a reviewer may see contextual data directly relevant to it, such as names of your contacts or apps installed on your devices.

Apple says request history is not used to build a marketing profile and is never sold to anyone. Even so, a sample of what you say may be listened to by a person. If you dictate things you would not want another person to hear, such as client details or medical notes, leave the setting off. Dictation works the same either way.

These are two different questions. Improve Siri & Dictation is about whether Apple may keep audio. On-device processing is about whether audio leaves your Mac to be transcribed in the first place. Apple says your device indicates in Keyboard settings whether your audio and transcripts are processed on your device and not sent to Apple servers.

To check, open System Settings, click Keyboard, and read the text below the Dictation switch. Dictation must be turned on for the text to appear.

A related switch in the same Analytics & Improvements list, Improve Assistive Voice Features, covers audio recordings of Voice Control and Adaptive Voice Shortcuts interactions. It is separate from Improve Siri & Dictation.

• Improve Siri & Dictation: Privacy & Security, Analytics & Improvements. Controls whether Apple stores and reviews audio.
• Dictation on or off: Keyboard, Dictation. Controls whether you can dictate at all.
• Processed on device or on a server: shown as text below the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings.
• Siri and Dictation history: deleted from Siri settings.