Apple’s new Live Rewind feature for the Apple Watch has raised privacy questions after its debut alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Watch Series 12. The feature can recover the last 15 seconds of spoken conversation and transcribe it as text directly on the watch.
How Live Rewind Works
Apple designed Live Rewind for moments when users miss part of a conversation—for example, when someone speaks quickly or a sentence is hard to follow. By double-pressing the Digital Crown, the watch processes recent speech and displays the words as text. Apple says the watch stops listening and transcribing once Live Rewind has processed the audio, and the recent speech is then deleted from the device. The transcript disappears about 30 seconds after the display dims. Users can choose to save information to the Siri app if they want to retain it.
Live Rewind also integrates with Siri, allowing users to connect the displayed text for additional help or to save relevant information. The feature can be enabled or disabled through the Watch app on an iPhone. It requires an Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4 paired with an iPhone 16 or newer.
Privacy Safeguards
Concerns have focused on whether someone could use Live Rewind without others knowing. Apple says the feature is designed to be noticeable to people nearby. When activated, the watch plays an audible chime through its speaker—even when set to silent mode or connected to headphones. A full-screen animation appears on the display, and a microphone indicator shows while Live Rewind is active. Apple states these signals make it clear that the feature is activated.
Live Rewind requires Apple Intelligence and will not be available to users under 13. Apple plans to introduce the feature later this year rather than with the initial versions of watchOS 27 and iOS 27.
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