The change

Apple updated several of its privacy pages on October 30, 2026. Three of them matter most for everyday users: Improve Siri and Dictation & Privacy, Siri, Dictation & Privacy, and Health App & Privacy. All three moved from 2026-09-14 to 2026-10-30.

The updates come with new features, including Siri AI, a ChatGPT extension in Siri, and Apple Intelligence in the Health app. Some of the changes give users more privacy, and some give Apple more data.

What changed

• The Siri opt-in covers more. Improve Siri and Dictation now lets Apple store and review “what you say to Siri, Dictation, and Translate, including audio and text.”

• Typed requests and links are included. The opt-in covers “what you say and type to Siri, the response Siri provides, and the links you open from world knowledge searches.”

• ChatGPT requests too. With the ChatGPT extension on and the opt-in enabled, “Apple may store all of your requests, including the audio recording and transcripts of your request.”

• Siri searches are stored by default. Search requests made with Siri are stored and used to improve Search unless you turn off Help Apple Improve Search.

• A second opt-in. Apple added a new setting called “Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence,” which also lets Apple collect, store, and review more data.

• Health is no longer on-device only. Medications and Mental Health processing now has an exception for Apple Intelligence.

From a sample to all of your interactions

The old Improve Siri and Dictation page said it allowed Apple to store and review “a sample of audio interactions with Siri and Dictation.” The Siri section said “Apple may store the audio of your interactions with Siri and Dictation.”

The new text is broader: “Apple may store all of your interactions with Siri and Dictation, including the audio data and transcripts of what you say and type to Siri, the response Siri provides, and the links you open from world knowledge searches.”

The rules on how long Apple keeps the data did not change. Data “may be retained and used for up to two years,” and “the small subset of interactions that has been reviewed may be kept beyond two years.” Apple still links this data to “a random, device-generated identifier that rotates multiple times per hour and is not tied to your Apple Account or email address.”

Deleting your Siri history

The old page told you to delete your on-device history by tapping “Delete Siri & Dictation History.” The new page says: “You can delete the transcripts of your Siri and Dictation requests that are stored on your device by going to Settings > Siri and tapping Turn Off Siri.”

The page no longer describes a way to clear your history while keeping Siri on.

What Siri does by default

If you never opt in, the news is mixed. The default page used to say “Apple stores transcripts of your interactions with Siri and may review a subset of these transcripts.” That sentence is gone. The new summary starts with “Siri data is not associated with your Apple Account.”

Searches are treated differently. “For Search requests, including Search requests made using Siri, the request will also be stored by Apple and used to improve Search, Siri, and related features.” Apple says you can stop this by going to Settings > Search and turning off Help Apple Improve Search.

Health data and Apple Intelligence

The Health app page used to make a simple promise for two sensitive features: “All processing for the Medications feature occurs on device.” The Mental Health section said the same.

Both now end with an exception: “All processing for the Medications feature occurs on device other than as described in the Apple Intelligence and Health section.” That new section says “certain information, such as your health data insights, may leave your device to be processed in Private Cloud Compute.”

Apple adds a safeguard: “The data being processed in Private Cloud Compute is not stored or made accessible to Apple.” So the change is about where the processing happens, not about Apple keeping your health data.

What got better

• By default, Apple no longer says it stores and reviews Siri transcripts.

• Siri AI requests sent to Private Cloud Compute are “not stored or made accessible to Apple,” according to the Siri page.

• A new Excluded Apps list lets you stop chosen apps from feeding data into Siri suggestions.

• Apple still says “Your request history is not used to build a marketing profile, and is never sold to anyone.”

Who this affects

Anyone who uses Siri on an Apple device. The biggest change applies to people who opted in to Improve Siri and Dictation, often during device setup. The search change applies to everyone who has not turned off Help Apple Improve Search. The Health change applies to people who use the Medications or Mental Health features with Apple Intelligence turned on.

Why this matters

As AI features arrive, privacy pages are rewritten around them, and the trade-offs are spread across several documents. Apple’s promise not to train AI on your data now has an exception, and Amazon’s privacy notice now says it uses data to develop generative AI.

For a company, devices used at work run these same settings. A setting turned on once during setup can decide what is stored for years, which is why it pays to monitor vendor terms of service and privacy pages for the tools your team uses every day.

Potential impact

If you use Siri, the update raises four practical questions:

• Did you opt in to Improve Siri and Dictation when you set up your device, and do you still want it on?

• Do you want your Siri searches stored and used to improve Search?

• Do you use the ChatGPT extension in Siri, and are you comfortable with those requests being stored?

• Do company devices used for sensitive work have these settings turned off?

How Venpo detected it

Venpo monitors Apple’s privacy pages and flagged the October 30 updates on October 31, 2026, with every inserted and deleted line marked. The record is on the Apple page on Venpo. Every quote in this article was checked against the redlines and against the live pages at the time of publication.

Business outcome

Teams that see this change can review the Siri and Search settings on work devices and decide what is allowed before data is collected. That is what continuous monitoring of vendor legal changes is for.

Key takeaway

Since October 30, 2026, Apple’s Improve Siri opt-in covers all of your Siri interactions, including what you type and the links you open, Siri searches are stored by default to improve Search, and the Health app no longer promises that Medications and Mental Health processing stays only on your device.