The news: Apple is positioning its revamped Siri as a more privacy-conscious chatbot alternative, even as it relies on Google’s Gemini for infrastructure.

The new Siri app—which might launch as a beta in the iOS 27 update despite a two-year delay—will let users set chats to auto-delete after 30 days, one year, or never, per Bloomberg.

Google Assistant/Gemini lets users opt in to auto-delete activity data at 3, 18, or 36 months, while Amazon's Alexa lets users delete voice recordings and transcriptions by request.

The bigger picture: Privacy is a cornerstone of Apple’s brand. Its focus on user control and data privacy sets Apple apart from peers like Meta and Google, which are more focused on advertising and, in the case of Meta, scraping data en masse to support AI development.

Apple has largely avoided such tactics, which has helped grow user trust and loyalty but also contributed to weaker AI capabilities compared with its rivals. Its conservative approach to model training has included using synthetic data, rather than human-created data.

Despite being more limited in scope, we expect Siri will surpass Gemini in voice assistant users in 2027. This could be because, even as Gemini continues to offer advanced AI tools, Apple’s tight hardware-software integrations and strong consumer trust are helping it grow its user base more quickly.

Implications for the voice assistant market: Apple’s privacy-focused Siri bet could increase consumer expectations for how voice assistants collect, store, and use personal data, especially as AI interactions become more conversational and commonplace.

At the same time, Apple’s approach shows a tradeoff in the AI assistant market between personalization and privacy—aggressive data collection could help improve offerings faster. But Apple is betting that tighter safeguards and greater user control will matter more to mainstream consumers as awareness around AI data usage grows.