According to Vice’s Motherboard, an unnamed Microsoft contractor was able to provide recordings—which tend to vary in length from 5–10 seconds, but aren’t limited to that—of people using Skype’s translation feature. To help Microsoft improve the feature’s capabilities, these contractors listen to what users have said and select from a list of possible translations or, in some cases, provide their own.
When asked about this setup, Microsoft representatives told Motherboard that the company makes these recordings available through a secure online portal, and that it takes steps—not described—to remove any associated information that could be used to identify a user after the fact. However, that doesn’t stop people from revealing information about themselves (like their address) when talking to a digital assistant like Cortana, and it doesn’t appear as if there’s any setup in place to prevent Microsoft’s contractors from analyzing that kind of spoken data.
According to a statement Microsoft provided to Motherboard:
You can read more here.
When asked about this setup, Microsoft representatives told Motherboard that the company makes these recordings available through a secure online portal, and that it takes steps—not described—to remove any associated information that could be used to identify a user after the fact. However, that doesn’t stop people from revealing information about themselves (like their address) when talking to a digital assistant like Cortana, and it doesn’t appear as if there’s any setup in place to prevent Microsoft’s contractors from analyzing that kind of spoken data.
According to a statement Microsoft provided to Motherboard:
You can read more here.
