ChatGPT for Android Adds a Privacy Toggle to Disable Background Listening

Highlights

• New toggle to disable background listening added in ChatGPT Android app.
• ChatGPT now only responds to voice when app is active and in foreground.
• Default setting ensures no accidental background voice capture.
• Update follows concerns over privacy and AI-generated audio.

An app update for OpenAI’s ChatGPT on Android has recently added a new toggle that disables background listening.

Now users can more confidently engage in voice discussions with the chatbot.

With this update, ChatGPT will respond to voice questions only when the app is active and in the foreground.

ChatGPT Could Hear Background Voice

Previously, the ChatGPT app on Android allowed users to continue voice chatting even when the app was pushed to the background or when the smartphone’s screen was turned off. 

This feature was touted as being able to offer contextual answers and seamless conversations, but also, privacy-wise, it worried the users who would forget to disable the voice chat manually.

The introduction of the on-off switch to disable background conversations might likely have been due to some of those incidents, such as the Scarlett Johansson voice cloning controversy, which brought to the limelight the dangers of AI-generatable audio.

Enhancing Privacy

The new toggle for disabling background conversations can be found under Settings > Voice > Background Conversations.

By default, this toggle is off for all users with the newest update to the ChatGPT app, ensuring that users do not accidentally expose themselves to undesired listening by the chatbot.

This update was released just days after OpenAI announced its new GPT-4o AI model.

It features powerful multi-language voice translation capabilities and is claimed to be significantly faster and more resource-efficient than the barebones GPT-3.5. 

OpenAI made the decision to make GPT-4o available to all users for free, with higher daily usage limits available to paid subscribers.

ChatGPT is now the number one AI chatbot, surpassing other companies’ offerings like Google Gemini, Claude, Perplexity AI, and Meta AI. 

Recently, the chatbot went offline for several hours, panicking millions of its users, only for it to be brought back to service in due time, showcasing just how much AI chatbots have become a key part of our internet usage.

FAQs

What does the new update for ChatGPT on Android include?

The latest update for the ChatGPT app on Android includes a new toggle that disables background listening, ensuring the app only responds to voice inputs when it is active and in the foreground.

Why was the background listening feature a concern?

The background listening feature raised privacy concerns as it allowed ChatGPT to continue voice conversations even when the app was in the background or the screen was off, potentially leading to unintended audio capture.

How can I disable background conversations in ChatGPT on Android?

You can disable background conversations by navigating to Settings > Voice > Background Conversations within the ChatGPT app and turning off the toggle.

What incidents prompted this update?

Privacy concerns, such as the Scarlett Johansson voice cloning controversy, highlighted the potential dangers of AI-generated audio, prompting OpenAI to introduce this privacy-focused update.

What is the default setting for the new background conversation toggle?

The default setting for the new toggle is off, ensuring that users are not accidentally exposed to unintended listening by the chatbot.

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