Every now and then you’re having a conversation about some products and services and then while browsing online, you’re mysteriously served up ads related to said discussion. It is the reason why many people have chosen to disable digital assistants like Siri.

It is also why Apple added the option to opt out of the Improve Siri & Dictation in more recent versions of iOS, but a discovery by ZDNet shows that some interactions have been recorded in iOS 15.

This came after the publication discovered that the bug switched off the opt out feature for many iPhone users who were running iOS 15.2.

“With iOS 15.2, we turned off the Improve Siri & Dictation setting for many Siri users while we fixed a bug introduced with iOS 15,” Apple noted in a statement to ZDNet.

“This bug inadvertently enabled the setting for a small portion of devices. Since identifying the bug, we stopped reviewing and are deleting audio received from all affected devices,” it adds.

A fix has since developed and currently resides within iOS 15.4 beta 2, but it is unclear at this stage when the beta will roll out to iPhone users as a fully fledged update.

Either way it does little dispel the notion that big tech companies are always listening in on you without your permission.

As far as the recordings go, Apple says it has since deleted all interactions that were incorrectly captured, but the fact that this was not disclosed to users immediately is a little disconcerting, especially given the company’s recent push for greater transparency when it comes to privacy and permissions.

Either way, it is a good idea to check whether the option is still toggled off, if you chose to opt out and update to iOS 15.4 as soon as it is made available.