San Francisco (AFP)
The US computer giant Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that some user conversations are being listened to by its providers to refine the voice translation features offered by Skype and its digital assistant Cortana.
"Microsoft is collecting voice data to provide and improve search, voice command, dictation and translation services," the group confirmed to AFP, while ensuring customer approval before collecting voice data .
The company defended its practices after Vice's revelations that conversations held on Skype's translation service and listened to by group providers could touch intimate topics such as sex or weight loss.
Microsoft also supported taking privacy precautions, including removing user identity information before sharing it with vendors to help improve software or services. These providers would be enjoined to respect the standards of protection of the privacy established by the European legislation.
This revelation is the latest in a long series: last May, Amazon announced the addition of features to ask Alexa, his voice assistant, to erase his recordings or to blind the camera.
Google, for its part, suspended tapping throughout the European Union for three months, after a request from a German data protection authority.
Last week, Apple also temporarily suspended the analysis by employees or contractors of conversations recorded by his voice assistant Siri, time to "review" his device.
© 2019 AFP