Apple explains what Siri Recap does with overheard conversations

For Siri Recap specifically, Apple describes this pipeline:

• Secure Exclave on Watch encrypts detected audio and sends it to Secure Exclave on the paired iPhone
• On iPhone, audio is decrypted, transcribed, and condensed inside Secure Exclave
• An encrypted, condensed text version — designed to be less than half the length of the original transcript, with tone cues, filler, and redundancy removed — goes to Private Cloud Compute with some contextual information
• PCC Apple Foundation Models summarize and format the finished text summary, which returns encrypted to iPhone and Watch

Apple says data in Private Cloud Compute is not stored and is not accessible to Apple or anyone else; it is used only to fulfill the request.

Summary notes — not a transcript or speaker log

Apple frames Siri Recap as high-level memory jogs, “comparable to notes you might jot down after a conversation,” not a full transcript.

By design there is no speaker attribution: Recap may include names if spoken, but does not label “John said…” or “Speaker A / Speaker B.”

Recaps are also designed to omit potentially harmful content (including language that promotes self-harm or hateful speech) and sensitive information such as financial data, government-assigned identifiers, authentication data, and certain personal identifiers.

Controls, retention, and caveats

Siri Recap is opt-in (Watch app on iPhone), with optional time and/or location schedules (Apple’s examples: only at work, never at night) plus a Control Center toggle.

Summaries live in the Siri app. Unsaved Recaps auto-delete after 7 days; users can delete anytime across synced devices, and can export to apps such as Notes. Saved summaries sync end-to-end encrypted via iCloud on trusted devices when two-factor authentication and a device passcode are in use — Apple says it does not hold those keys.

Apple’s own caveats matter: summaries may be incomplete or inaccurate; automated filtering may not remove all sensitive information. Apple also asks wearers to “be mindful” of nearby private conversations even though audio is not stored and speakers are not attributed.

Availability limits (still)

Live Rewind and Siri Recap remain beta later this year, English first. Apple lists Series 12 / Ultra 4 plus a long list of Apple Intelligence–capable iPhones (iPhone 16 and later families including Duo / Air / 18 Pro, with other exclusions noted in Support). Features are not available for users under 13; under-18 Child Accounts need a parent/guardian. Apple notes Siri AI (required) will not initially be available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.

Sources: Apple Support — About Audio Intelligence, MacRumors report, Ultra 4 Newsroom privacy summary.