Is Nuance/Dragon stealing your iPhone's contacts? (Updated with response from Nuance)
Update: Nuance has responded to these concerns in the comments. For their side of the story on this, hit up their page on the matter.
Dragon's Dictation iPhone app, which we posted about last night, is getting some poor ratings in Apple's comments. The app works really well, so what's the major gripe? Turns out most of the negative comments involve the EULA which states that Nuance...
"collects and uses: the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book in order to improve the quality of service..."
"You acknowledge and agree that Nuance may collect the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book and the Speech Data as part of the Service and that such information shall only be used by Nuance or third parties acting under the direction of Nuance pursuant to the confidentiality agreements as identified above."
Oh, and everything you say is obviously uploaded to Nuance. Obviously, some people might take issue with the company that pulls all of your contacts and uploads them to their server. Perhaps Nuance needs to be more clear about this policy, rather than burying it in the EULA.
So, read the EULA before installing the Free Dragon iPhone app. Perhaps Dragon will have a sans-contact-sharing option in an upcoming version.
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Comments (29)
This just got deleted off my phone for this very reason.
SCREW DRAGON DICTATION until they offer an opt-out of such invasive privacy-invading crap.
Well then, you're a pathetic reactionary idiot just like all those other idiots who don't wait until proper explanations have been given, who scream and cry, and probably get though umpteen iPhones every year because you can't stop throwing them across your office before you've read the small print. Grow up and stop being such a big baby.
The main problem is that it uploads everything you're speaking. That could be way more valuable than your contacts, especially if you run a business. They definitely have the capability to do this all on the phone if they wanted. There's no need to upload everything to their servers, c'mon...
Plus even if they didn't upload what you speak, they can just upload the text! That's messed up. Once they have it what's to stop them from disregarding their own EULA or if there's a breach or something, wow
The most common sense reason for this would be that it is likely people would be dictating things that have people's name in it. Names are very hard to transcribe without doing some extra heavy-lifting like spelling it out. In this case they're probably comparing everything you say to your address book for possibly matches so they get the right transcription.
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Or they're plotting to steal all your contacts and rape your daughter. Odds are about even.
If so..... they should give people the option to allow or decline.....
You people complaining about uploading contact data are stupid. Nuance only uploads the names of your contacts, not email, phone number etc. Just the names, and from those names, Nuance doesn't even know which one is the owner of the iPhone. It stores names for spelling purposes. Names are personal nouns that can have different spellings for same pronunciation- louis, lewis, luis, etc.. Dragon wouldn't know that those are people, and so likely to return a common noun like "loser" every time. With "Louis" in your contact list, Dragon realizes you aren't mispronouncing "loser" when you are trying to say "Louis" Being that your names and contacts names could be dictated frequently, it would be a real pain if you had to deal with that issue every time. Nuance isn't stealing your data, they are trying to improve your service. What good would contact data do? Are they a marketing firm? Advertiser? No, they are software engineers contact data has little use. Google collects as much personal data as possible since it generates 99% of revenue from ads based on user's personal data.
move to the UK or the USA and you will enjoy what can be done with the info...and how governments and companies can screw their populations. enjoy. not for me!
move to the UK or the USA and you will enjoy what can be done with the info...and how governments and companies can screw their populations. enjoy. not for me!
Any app that has an agreement as the first page is pretty much a sign that the company is being very open about everything. From the fact that they clearly tell you that all your transcriptions are done on their server to this. The obvious standout for why this is necessary is if you need something transcribed that includes a name (which is extremely hard to transcribe) the easiest way to do that is to compare it to your current contacts. The EULA tells you exactly what they're doing and what they're not doing with your data. If you don't read it who do you have to blame? I'd be angry if they burried it in a terms of service on a random page or something but it's the first thing you see when you open the app and have to click through it. Come on!
You people complaining about uploading contact data are stupid. Nuance only uploads the names of your contacts, not email, phone number etc. Just the names, and from those names, Nuance doesn't even know which one is the owner of the iPhone. It stores names for spelling purposes. Names are personal nouns that can have different spellings for same pronunciation- louis, lewis, luis, etc.. Dragon wouldn't know that those are people, and so likely to return a common noun like "loser" every time. With "Louis" in your contact list, Dragon realizes you aren't mispronouncing "loser" when you are trying to say "Louis" Being that your names and contacts names could be dictated frequently, it would be a real pain if you had to deal with that issue every time. Nuance isn't stealing your data, they are trying to improve your service. What good would contact data do? Are they a marketing firm? Advertiser? No, they are software engineers contact data has little use. Google collects as much personal data as possible since it generates 99% of revenue from ads based on user's personal data.
Anonymous said...
@TMM: Nuance may not be an adress-marketer. But Nuance is also NOT a high-security company that primarily militarygrade-secures data as a service. Or? I'd really would like to get some answers on questions of security. how do they want to proof the security of their servers?
Sure a forename may not reveal much information. But a user-centric (though"anonymous") array of all his relations is something different. Whoever gets a chance to dump this data can built i.e. a really big social map. Or - more simple - just think of a simple search-query: it will reveal one or more arrays with the person in question.
On Nuances webpage about this, the comments are open. I asked about the same questions, but my comment did not pass moderation. Nuance - please handle this as transparent as possible.
So, nuance started the game and opened the comments - i think you should answer the raised questions.
Bet it is just so that they can use the names for pattern matching and match it to specific people - could be very useful for emails, texts and so on.
But they should make it clear!
Hi Seth,
I wanted to take an opportunity to respond, and point you and your readers to the blog post on our site that clarifies many of the questions surrounding what happens with contact name data and associated privacy concerns.
What Dragon Dictation for the iPhone Does (and Doesn't Do) with Your Contacts
http://blog.dragonmobileapps.com/2009/12/what-dragon-dictation-for-iphone-does.html
Thank you,
Rebecca Paquette, Corporate Communications Manager
Nuance Communications
Rebecca, as you can see, you guys really should have been up-front about this, rather than having it blow up in your faces, rightfully or not. Will you be addressing the concerns of users who, because of privacy laws like HIPAA, cannot allow their contacts to be dumped to your servers?
This app is insanely great. I have it on my two year old iPhone and it works perfectly so far. This has added a very versatile tool the phone that just gets better and better every week. The people complaining about it not working with the ipod touch should read the description, it states works with iPhone. Those complaining about the upload of names, if this bothers you do not use it, they are not charging you anything and are using it so you do not have to correct the spelling in the dictation.
It seems to be only available to US users.
This is an explanation from Nuance.
http://blog.dragonmobileapps.com/2009/12/what-dragon-dictation-for-iphone-does.html
I can't wait to share my contacts with this app and Dragon! Please release this in the UK. I'll pay!!
Yeah I agree that's really shady they would bury this info in the EULA. Another example of a company that should of made this clear when open the app and people would have been much less suspicious.
lame
What a bunch of babbling idiots, crying because they upload some names. At least they tell you up front, lord knows how many other companies have already pulled that information without you knowing it. Not to mention no one gives a shit about your aunt lucy or your mistress "Star" the stripper. They could get or already have all your information anyhow, and if they had some "evil" plan to wreck your life they wouldn't need to do it by an app.
What a bunch of paranoid idiots.
Oh.. btw, it won't matter anyhow, I'm sure you all think 2012 the world is ending too...
I promise I'll only look at your name.
Funny that people are worried about some names being uploaded to servers, but not the fact that everything that they speak is uploaded to the servers.
ISn't it easier, and less problematical, to just make it opt in?
I too contacted Nuance and heard back promptly from them. They are apparently being bombarded with e-mails. Regardless of their claims, I'm looking at this from the point of view of the people whose names I unwittingly "gave" to Nuance; I don't think they'd be pleased. While its too late to correct, I told Nuance that I had removed the app and will not use it again.
MY lawyers tell me I should be careful about what contacts are on my phone, let alone contacts sent to third parties.....
I don't use this product and I swear I'll never buy another Nuance product after the headaches I've had with Paperport since Nuance bought them.
Their business model is to take decent companies, buy them, screw them up and screw over the customer.
Of course they are going to give some spin about your information being confidential blah blah blah. Who knows what they are using it for, who they are sharing it with and who may get it unknowingly. And there is no option to opt out or delete data once transmitted. Crooks!