“This is so crazy and creepy!”
Kent Prain Jr. (@kprainjr), a real estate agent in Greenville, South Carolina, says his iPhone called 911 after it overheard him complaining that a YouTube fitness instructor was “killing” him during a workout — a shocking reminder that our devices are always listening.
“Y’all, I’ve always known that our phones were being listened to,” he began, “but I never had a first-hand experience or description until tonight.”
A man’s iPhone dials 911 on his behalf during a workout
Prine explained that he and his wife were working out in their shed, which doubled as a sauna.
“My wife has Hashimoto’s thyroid disease,” he explained. “So I said, okay, listen, we’re going to do a thyroid exercise with a girl on YouTube. Her name is Sarah Sanders, also known as the Thyroid Trainer. She’s amazing.”
The training was tough, so he did what people usually do. “So I [leaned] I leaned against the wall and told my wife. I said, ‘Man, Sarah is killing me. ‘”
Then, something unexpected happened: “Unknowingly, I [heard] My phone rang. I heard ‘Greenville County EMS’ or ‘Greenville County 911, what’s your emergency? ‘”
His iPhone completely misunderstood the situation and Prain probably didn’t realize it was listening. “It heard me say ‘Sarah is going to kill me,’ and then called 911 on my behalf. How crazy is that?” he said.
Peanut Gallery Participate in the strange experience of iPhone
“It’s not wild, it’s invasive,” one commenter said. Another person wrote: “Sometimes when I say Sarah it thinks I mean Siri. That’s crazy!” Prain’s reaction gave him a lightbulb moment: “OOOO!!! Maybe it thinks I mean Siri and fuck it. Haha.”
Someone noticed an example of Siri/iPhone listening, and the results were beneficial to the user. “When I was in an accident, my iPhone dialed 911,” they wrote. “When I picked up the phone, [it] Says the driver is unresponsive and it’s not connected to my car so how does it know? “
This could be one of the best situations where your cell phone listens to your conversation, or the absence of a cell phone helps save someone.
Hey, Siri: Are you listening?
The incident highlights the double-edged nature of Apple’s voice assistant technology, given the huge privacy concerns. Siri is designed to remain passively alert and ready to respond to commands or detect signs of distress, even when your iPhone is locked.
Fortunately, Apple maintains emergency access above all privacy walls in the event of an accident or any emergency such as the one described above. Siri can call 911 without users entering a password, showing their face, or unlocking their device.
But, there’s always a “but,” and that same feature means Siri can misinterpret casual speech and turn a light-hearted workout complaint into a full-blown emergency response. As iPhones add features like collision detection and hands-free SOS, the gap between life-saving tools and privacy concerns continues to narrow.
Allhiphop contacted Prain via TikTok private messages and comments, and contacted Apple via email. The article will be updated based on responses.
@kprainjr This is crazy! ! ! ! It called 911 because I told my wife @Sarah | The thyroid trainer was torturing me. 😂😅😂😅 #iphone #listening #oops #workout #tropical ♬ Original Soundtrack – Kent Prain Jr | Greenville, SC
