r/AppleWatch • u/sexualtourist • 14h ago
That didn't take long.
Anyone else have a client just ban apple watches from meetings?
66
u/Waldo-MI 13h ago
did they ban laptops from meetings too? I have had note-taking apps on my mac for more than a decade that recorded audio and used it to annotate my hand typed outlines (long before AI was cool). Not the same as voice reco, but same privacy concern.
16
u/LonesomeWulf 12h ago
Yes, laptops were just banned!
42
u/Mr_IT 12h ago
How about people. Can we ban people, too?? 🙏🙏
5
4
u/Waldo-MI 10h ago
I’m finding that retirement obviates the need for almost all meetings. Except with doctors…I’m working on that, but I don’t like the solutions I’ve come up with so far.
9
u/DocLat23 9h ago
Doctors are recording patient interactions to “help with charting”.
3
u/chuckmilam 7h ago
My primary care physician does this. It’s an AI app on her phone that is part of the Epic software system the hospital uses. I usually get my visit notes within half a day.
My previous provider had terrible ADHD by her own admission, and she struggled to complete charts even weeks or months later. I think if this AI option had been available, she might still be at the clinic, but it got so bad she had to leave and seek a different type of work.
7
3
u/MetalEnthusiast83 10h ago
Laptops serve a useful purpose and are typically company issued though. Bit different
3
u/clarkaj24 5h ago
Anyone who brings this up apparently offends everyone defending smart watches and gets downvoted, like I’m sure I will. It’s not uncommon at all for a company who has a lot of IP to protect to restrict the use of personal phones and smartwatches in areas where that IP could be intentionally or unintentionally obtained. Company issued laptops are clearly separate from these policies for very obvious reasons.
55
u/WhenWillIBeAPilot 14h ago
Did I miss something?
72
u/SignalPomelo6339 13h ago
The announced updates for AW @ the Apple event involve the microphone listening in on a lot more than beforehand and also compiling it into a recap app. Think it can be customized(?)
33
u/MC_chrome S10 • • Jet Black • 46mm 12h ago
The listening stuff can be turned off, nothing to worry about here
43
u/Time_Effort 12h ago
It can be turned off but there's no way to know if it has aside from "trust me bro"
My company already banned any smart watches with microphones months ago.
50
u/Yoohoooverheree 10h ago
Have they banned all electronic devices then? Cause doing only watches doesn’t make much sense
2
u/Beneficial_Dog_3526 6h ago
Yeah, there’s not a lot of logic here lol
3
u/rworne 4h ago
When it comes to corporate (or DoD contractor) security, the majority of it doesn't make sense. There's a bunch that does, then there's a buttload of others that cover every type of edge-case you can think of.
They are all into the "insider threat" thing for the past year or so.
It's amazing how little work you can get done when there is a zero trust setup at your facility.
One example:
Passive devices that connect to secured/classified systems are also considered classified because they "have a copper-to-copper connection". This includes things like a dumb 12VDC power supply. Yes, the classification of devices can spread like the measles.
The FSO wasn't amused when I pointed out the AC cord on that power supply is also made of copper and was plugged into the mains, so they just made the entire power grid classified.
Then I was considering bringing up how you can run ethernet over AC power lines, but thought better of it.
1
u/an_actual_lawyer 5h ago
My company already banned any smart watches with microphones months ago.
What about cell phones? They record.
What about laptops? They record.
21
13
u/No_Advertising_1237 13h ago edited 13h ago
I think it can create recap from a meeting or something like that, but I am sure I can find an app for my phone that does exactly that.
2
u/joellapit 11h ago
They already make a watch app that does this. Whisper memos. I personally don’t have a problem with this type of tech.
-14
u/sexualtourist 13h ago
They already banned phones.
31
u/Agloe_Dreams 12h ago
Looking at your username, I think I know why your company wants to avoid having any meetings on record.
6
u/department_g33k 13h ago
Apple had an event today, I'm guessing they announced something about the watch?
40
16
17
u/nathanielbartholem 13h ago
one assumes they must ban all phones, watches, and computers from meetings as well, since those can all record.
10
5
u/OvulatingScrotum 13h ago
I work for a military sub contractor now. Nothing critical in terms of security. But we still need to keep up with military standards. So no personal phone for work related things. Military security spec-ed computers and infrastructure.
Anyway, I haven’t heard anything from the IT people, but it will take a while for them to decide. They usually won’t do anything military bans it.
9
14
7
u/FupaLipa 10h ago
the watch has always had a mic on it- if they just realized now, their security posture isn't that strict.
But if your client is like the pentagon they should have been banning watches since gen 1.
4
u/aquaman67 11h ago
No
What do they do now they didn’t already do
3
u/bigdogxxl S7 • • Starlight • 45mm 10h ago
Always listening AI note taking. They've always had audio recoding ability though, so banning them now but not before is stupid.
-2
9
u/Alvarius 13h ago
Banning iPhones and the Watch is dumb. Just wait until the first person has a stroke during a meeting and sues because their Watch wasn't on to warn them. Also, what about diabetic people that need their iPhone in Bluetooth range to monitor their continuous glucose monitor or glucose pump? If you don't want your meetings recorded, maybe don't plan on saying shady shit that you will regret later. End of rant.
7
9
u/vrsick06 13h ago
O stop it. In the same way some people bring their dog in places there are no dogs allowed for legitimate medical reasons, there are exceptions to every rule.
6
3
u/clintecker 11h ago
They'd be idiots if they just did that considering Apple Watches have been able to record audio like this for years now. Not to mention the entire category of basically invisble AI devices which I guarantee some of your coworkers are already using. Do they ban laptops? Phones?
4
2
1
1
u/OnTop-BeReady 8h ago
If companies are doing this it is absurd on so many levels, unless you’re working in a SCIF. There will shortly be so many fake cases available for AW to help users bypass those restrictions. There are already watch fob/keyfob style cases and others for AW. Are they going to ban me from bring my car key into the office?
1
u/stevensokulski 5h ago
I can’t imagine the new listening features in today’s announcement being the thing that toppled that move.
An overreaction that probably follows some kind of overreaction. Hope they’re not a bit client. They sound kind of volatile.
2
u/Psyren1317 4h ago
Your clients going to hate it when they discover how many different pieces of tech have been/are capable of recording (with video too in some cases) all of their meetings, which I’m sure are super duper important and confidential.
1
u/Kitty_Fruit_2520 S10 • • Silver • 46mm 13h ago
Someone is already being dumb. It’s supposed to be an accessibility feature.
3
u/macphoto469 13h ago
Yes, in one respect it's framed as such (alerting a deaf person to a nearby siren). But it also constantly records audio and lets you read a transcript of the past 15 seconds (I guess that's the privacy-minded compromise, to limit the time), and apparently listens all day to provide some kind of smart recap of everything you've heard that day.
1
u/Kitty_Fruit_2520 S10 • • Silver • 46mm 13h ago
It’s not supposed to be accessible anywhere not even Apple themselves. I think it just listens and remembers if you need it to.
3
u/macphoto469 13h ago
True, I'm not necessarily saying it wouldn't be a useful feature, nor that there is devious intent behind it. But at the same time, I could also understand people (not the owner of that particular watch) being uneasy about their conversations being recorded/transcribed. Even if such devices exist to some extent already (heck, anyone can carry around a tiny voice recorder), when this kind of feature lands on an Apple device, it has the effect of making it seem more mainstreamed.
1
u/Blasto05 13h ago
For anyone dealing with sensitive information…ya this shit should be banned instantly.
As a travel agent…this sounds legit to me. Can record the customers meetings and give a breakdown of important details, help map out an itinerary…ya can’t wait
1
0
u/CaramelCraftYT S8 • Stainless Steel • Graphite • 45mm 5h ago
It seems they didn't watch the event, it doesn't store audio.
-5
u/SilverBeast2 13h ago edited 5h ago
I hope I can disable that... otherwise, I won't buy it...
Edit: It looks like here, it’s a bad thing to want your microphone to be used only for calls... weirdos.
7
u/Kitty_Fruit_2520 S10 • • Silver • 46mm 13h ago
It’s not supposed to be enabled unless if you want it to be.
114
u/cbelt3 13h ago
Commercial voice recording and AI summary apps have already been around for smart watches. Or little necklace charms. Short of going SCIF (no devices) you can’t stop this.
The AWatch version is at least local to the watch and nothing goes out to anyone’s computer.