I discovered that setting macOS input volume to 0 doesn't actually stop "Listen for Siri" or Apple Intelligence from hearing you. The wake-word detection bypasses the system volume setting
entirely.
So la I built NoSpy — a 156-line Swift CLI that:
- Toggles your mic with one command
- Warns you if Siri can still listen (even when "muted")
- Opens the right settings pane to actually disable it
No dependencies. Just compile and run:
swiftc nospy.swift -o nospy
./nospy status
Example output when you think you're muted but aren't:
Microphone is MUTED (input volume: 0)
Siri/Apple Intelligence is ENABLED — "Listen for Siri" can still hear you.
Curious if others have run into this. The distinction between "system mute" and "voice assistant mute" isn't obvious in macOS, and I suspect most people assume muting the mic means nothing is listening??
Siri has scared us a few times lately; my wife exclaimed something like “I’ll just shoot myself” and her iPhone immediately called emergency services.
We do use the HomeKit platform though, and so no muting like this is possible unfortunately. I would however like to make sure my MacBook can be private.
I discovered that setting macOS input volume to 0 doesn't actually stop "Listen for Siri" or Apple Intelligence from hearing you. The wake-word detection bypasses the system volume setting entirely.
So la I built NoSpy — a 156-line Swift CLI that:
- Toggles your mic with one command
- Warns you if Siri can still listen (even when "muted")
- Opens the right settings pane to actually disable it
No dependencies. Just compile and run:
Example output when you think you're muted but aren't: GitHub: https://github.com/BrowserBox/NoSpyInspired by: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46790765
Curious if others have run into this. The distinction between "system mute" and "voice assistant mute" isn't obvious in macOS, and I suspect most people assume muting the mic means nothing is listening??
Siri has scared us a few times lately; my wife exclaimed something like “I’ll just shoot myself” and her iPhone immediately called emergency services.
We do use the HomeKit platform though, and so no muting like this is possible unfortunately. I would however like to make sure my MacBook can be private.
Hahaha, that's quite a story. Yeah this little script only works on mac I think.