His posts seem to misunderstand Apple’s relationship with OpenAI, or at least attempt to leave room for doubt about user privacy. While both Apple and OpenAI have stated that users are asked questions before “sending any questions to ChatGPT” along with documents or photos, Musk’s responses indicate that he believes OpenAI is deeply integrated into Apple’s operating system itself and is therefore able to capture any personal and private data.
Apple says that in iOS 18, people will be able to ask Siri questions, and if the assistant thinks ChatGPT might assist, it will ask for permission to share the question and present the answer directly. This allows users to get a response from ChatGPT without having to open the ChatGPT iOS app. Photos, PDF files or other documents you want to send to ChatGPT are treated in the same way.
However, Musk would prefer that OpenAI’s capabilities remain tied to a dedicated app rather than Siri integration.
Responding to VCs and CTOs Pull herselfWe buy at Sutter Hill Ventures, who wrote that the user approves a specific request based on a single request – OpenAI does not have access to the device – Musk wrote: “So leave it as an app. This is bullshit.”
Pullara said the way ChatGPT was integrated was essentially the same as the ChatGPT app currently works. The AI models on the device are either Apple-owned or models using Apple’s private cloud.
Meanwhile, replying to an X post from YouTuber Marques Brownlee that explained Apple Intelligence in detail, Musk replied: “Apple is using the words ‘protect your privacy’ by giving your data to an external AI it doesn’t understand and can’t create itself *doesn’t* protect at all privacy!”
He even he replied to a post by Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he threatened to ban the utilize of Apple devices on his company premises if he “does not stop this terrifying spyware.”
“It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to create its own AI, yet is somehow able to ensure that OpenAI will protect your security and privacy!” Musk exclaimed in one of his many posts about the up-to-date integrations. “Apple has no idea what’s actually going on when it gives your data to OpenAI. They sell you down the river,” he said. While it’s true that Apple may not know the inner workings of OpenAI, it’s not technically Apple transferring data – the user is making a choice based on what’s happening.
Apple also announced another integration that will allow users to access ChatGPT system-wide within writing tools via the “create” feature. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to write a bedtime story for your child in a document, Apple suggested. You can also ask ChatGPT to generate images in different styles to complement your text. With these features, users will essentially have free access to ChatGPT, without the need to create an account. This is great news for OpenAI, which will soon have a huge influx of requests from Apple users.
Apple users may, of course, not understand the nuances of privacy issues – which is exactly what Musk is counting on with these complaints. If users could set their own preferred AI bot as the person to whom Siri requests or typing assistance would be sent, such as Anthropic’s Claude or – say xAI’s Grok – it’s doubtful Musk would be shouting so loudly about the dangers of such integration . (In fact, Apple just hinted that Google Gemini could be integrated in the future, during a post-keynote session).
In its announcement, Apple says user requests and information are not logged, but ChatGPT subscribers can connect their accounts and then access paid features directly within Apple’s AI solutions.
“Of course you have control over when ChatGPT is used and you will be asked before sharing any information. ChatGPT integration will be available in iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia later this year,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice president of software engineering. The features will only be available on iPhone Pro 15 models and devices using M1 or newer chips.
OpenAI repeated something similar in his blog post, noting that “requests are not stored by OpenAI and user IP addresses are hidden. Users can also choose to link their ChatGPT account, which means their data preferences will apply in accordance with ChatGPT rules. The latter refers to the optional (as in the case of opt-in) possibility of combining this function with a paid subscription.