Apple's 'non-recording' camera still records you

Apple is reportedly working on a smart home camera that doesn't save video recordings. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported this, as The Verge notes. Instead, the camera uses AI to turn visual data into text snippets describing what's happening. It would also support facial recognition, but without video footage. The same approach might come to future AirPods.

The Verge argues this redefines what we call a recording. The company seems to think that if no video file is saved, it isn't recording you. But the text generated is preserved and reviewable – that's a recording by any practical definition.

This isn't new thinking from Apple. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 have Audio Intelligence features like Live Rewind and Siri Recap. Live Rewind transcribes the last 15 seconds of conversation; Siri Recap generates summaries of your day. Apple says no audio is saved – the raw data is deleted after processing on a secure coprocessor. But the transcripts and summaries are saved. You can review them.

"By these definitions, something has to be preserved and reviewable to be 'recording' you," The Verge writes.

Google is mulling similar ideas. Sandeep Waraich, Google's senior director of wearables, told The Verge that cameras on smart glasses might not save footage. Instead, AI processes visual data in real time. The camera would be "just an image sensor."

This all sounds like tech companies trying to make surveillance palatable. They want you to believe a camera that sees you but doesn't save video is somehow less intrusive. But the information – text summaries, facial recognition data – is still captured and stored. It might be less directly viewable, but it's still a record of your life.

The real issue, as The Verge points out, is that these gadgets blur the line between recording and not recording. A camera that silently watches and writes notes is harder to spot than one with a red light. And if every device has a camera that "doesn't record," how do you tell which ones do?

For now, the smart home camera is just a rumor. But the direction is clear. Apple and Google are betting that people will accept AI watching and listening if they promise not to "record." That's a bet I wouldn't take.

You don't need this. Your current camera either records or it doesn't. That's a simple, honest choice. Don't let semantics confuse it.

• AI
• Apple
• Google
• privacy
• smart home cameras
• surveillance