Link: https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/09/10/watch-out-apple-timepiece-can-grab-snippets-of-conversation-without-both-speakers-consent/5295666

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Privacy is surveillance

George Orwell only made two mistakes:

• He was off by 42 years
• The surveillance is conducted by the private sector in cahoots with the fascist state for profit rather than directly by the state.

So can a phone, or a tiny audio recorder.

*In the US

Nononono apple cares about my privacy! They're so different from Google!! /s

Yeah but its OK when its Apple and not Zuckerberg who are doing it. I have no idea why Apple keeps getting away with everything they do. They could release Metas creepy smartglasses tomorrow in an aluminium finish and people would love them and excuse any privacy concerns.

The surveillance is conducted by the private sector in cahoots with the fascist state for profit rather than directly by the state.

it had always been this way and orwell would have known that if he didn't buy into the propaganda.

i'll be forever funny that COINTELPRO was active during orwell's time so there's a strong possibility that it elevated his work because of its pro-propaganda messaging.

that's how you know it's a cult

The wearer's Watch emits an audible tone, even in silent mode, to alert those in the vicinity and provides a visual cue for those able to see the face of the device.

Nonetheless, bystanders alerted to the recording – to the extent they recognize the meaning of the tone – have not consented to being recorded, which is a legal requirement in 11 US states that have all-party consent laws.

Ok, so it actively alerts about the recording, unlike "Voice Memos" or any other audio recorder app. And so its on the onus of the user to ensure those in the conversation consent, which is and has always been the case for any sort of recording device. Apple bad, updoots to the right pls

Wtf, it’s called a watch, not a listen

Great, first we had to be on the lookout for assholes wearing Rayban glasses, now we have to be wary of anyone wearing an Apple Watch...

The audio warning chime would also not help ppl who are deaf.

Pervert watches to complement the pervert glasses.

Not quite:

The Facebook pervert glasses are purchased by perverts to shoot videos of their victims, and Facebook rides along to perform their privacy invasion.

Apple's watch performs the same insane level of privacy invasion but all you get in return is a lousy text summary of what was said. Nothing to jack off on or blackmail someone with like with the Facebook spectacles.

Nothing to jack off on

Oh you sweet summer child 😂

I was thinking things like skimming credit card numbers or some creep hearing you give you phone number to the clerk and stalking you.

Video is different, but the ability to record 24/7 has all kinds of criminal possibilities.

I was thinking things like skimming credit card numbers

You were specifically talking about pervert uses. That's not perverted.

or some creep hearing you give you phone number to the clerk and stalking you.

That is perverted though. Touche.

Third mistake. He forgot to tell us that his 1984 was the sequel to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.... we could have avoided this if we didnt become mindless consumers.

Holy shit case closed

Getting the last 15 seconds summarized honestly sounds almost useless and kind of a cringe feature to showcase in the first place

Currently we live in a world where neither book became completely true. However, bits and pieces from both did. Nowadays there’s all sorts of enjoyment and distraction easily available, and it seems to partially take the role soma has in BNW.

I'll have the black medium V neck t-shirt please.

(ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I'm working up to it ok? damn calories seech!)

Everything is legal in the US at this point

You know gamers, I really love how this era of capitalism we're living in is just companies trying to spy on us as hard as possible to know what exactly to advertise to us and if you show any form of rejection to it, then you get called a schizo by your friends.

No. It's a watch alright. Like the night watch. It's meant to be on the lookout and to judge. It's meant to watch you.

I doubt their silent conversations will be picked uo

Not just soma,
the censorship of the different,
the unavailability of inconvenient history or information is a direct parallel to the echo chamber bubbles of social media,
then constant advertising,
that anything new must be more expansive, complex, and require more equipment that the pre-existing alternative.

I think we worried too much about one book and not enough about the other. 1984 seems to be coming now that the BNW prepared the population into distracted acquiesence but where does that then lead? Do we become the eloi after that?

I find the psychosocial parallels fascinating. Sorry if it seems a bit tinfoil...

What’s stopping the creep from doing this with any other available audio recording device right now? You don’t need an Apple Watch to do any of that.

You could make the same argument about the glasses, I guess

I think the glasses are different because they are not as easily spotted as other video recording devices. Especially when someone disables the recording indicator (that is not very visible in the first place). They can be mistaken for normales glasses more easily.

An audio recording device can record without being seen by the other party.

I think the glasses are different because they are not as easily spotted as other video recording devices.

That's not true at all, we've had cheap tiny hidden bodyworn recording devices for a long time.

Instead of glasses how about a cross: https://blackpointsecurity.com/products/black-cross-necklace-hidden-spy-camera-with-dvr.html

Or maybe in a pen in your pocket: https://blackpointsecurity.com/products/mini-spy-full-hd-pen-recorder-camera.html

I don't know if I've read of any Apple fans who don't think this is creepy or at the very least wildly unnecessary as a feature.

I've read (and don't quote me on it) that the way it gets around those laws is it's technically not "recording". It's real-time dictation with no audio recorded or transmitted anywhere...

... But even so, it really goes against the spirit of those laws.

I have an old Apple Watch and this made me wanna get rid of it.

I've bought into their ecosystem (mainly just because I hate every other tech giant slightly more) but they've really done little to impress me these past few years...

Meanwhile no one on this website has probably seen ads in years

They've been actually listening to conversations for years, what is new is that an LLM is going to report about it to the user... which is quite ironic if you ask me.

Imagine breaking up with the one you love only to have your watch remind you about it later... pathetic

Well, very many deaf people can talk just fine, and do, for the benefit of hearing ppl who may not know sign language.

The surveillance is conducted by the private sector in cahoots with the fascist state for profit rather than directly by the state.

Yeah, I don't think that's a particularly meaningful distinction. It's actually a viable definition of fascism itself.

“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.” — Benito Mussolini

Assumably it’s a “passive” feature that you have to explicitly tell “hey keep record of that” within 15 seconds of the interaction.

So a little less doom and gloom than the headline suggests.

Edit: It seems I mixed up features. This still doesnt sound terrible. You as a user turn it on, the device emits a tone and visual cue. You can do the same thing with any number of sound recording devices out there, and they give literally zero warning they are recording.

There are indeed many eerie similarities. Both books got many themes correct, even though the exact details were wrong. BNW isn’t as popular and well known as 1984, and that’s why the latter still gets all the attention. If people knew BNW, they would be referencing it all the time, since modern life is pretty messed up even by BNW standards.

Cult of personality and brand loyalty. They are still riding Steve Jobs' creation of a "movement". Bowel or otherwise.

You are probably right, though it is depressing to consider the lack of common recognition for Huxley

People like to feel like they belong.

Except for neurospicey assholes like myself. Lol