iOS 9 Offers the “Hey Siri” Feature

iOS 9 Siri that comes with iOS 9 will be somewhat more difficult to fool. The improved security measure is needed to compensate for the added capability of the virtual assistant. It is now possible to evoke Siri by calling “Hey Siri” and no button push is necessary. On earlier iOS 8, such a capability is available only when the phone is charging, while being plugged in. This has caused some concerns on whether random people could activate Siri and order it to do something inappropriate. Siri can now be trained to listen to only specific and there’s a built-in tutorial to instruct users on how to allow Siri to learn specific voices. It remains to be seen whether this capability will work smoothly.

By default, the “Hey Siri” feature is not enabled and users can toggle it on in Settings>Siri>Hey Siri. This will be another meaningful small upgrade for the voice assistant and the iPhone will become more usable. At the moment, it isn’t known whether it is possible for hackers to replace the voice recognition mechanism, which allows them to enable Siri with their own voice. The voice recognition feature is only designed to limit that possibility, but not to eliminate it.