Data privacy Illustration: VCG

WPS Office apologized on Saturday night for its inappropriate representations in the privacy policy, affirming that all user documents will not be used for any artificial intelligent (AI) training purposes.

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is a network security standard to create a secure wireless home network. Created by Cisco and introduced in 2006, the point of the protocol is to allow home users who know little of wireless security to set up Wi-Fi Protected Access, as well as making it easy to add new devices to an existing network without entering long passphrases. WPS also allows the owner of Wi-Fi privileges to block other users from using their household Wi-Fi.

The company’s statement came after that one of its expressions used in the privacy policy referencing that “we will use the documents you voluntarily upload as the base material for AI training after desensitization” was questioned by users concerning their privacy.

In response, WPS Office said that after reviewing the document, it recognized that the previous description of how user documents will be handled had caused valid concern. 

WPS noted that it has updated its privacy policy and moved to delete misleading statements, declaring that all user documents will not be used for any AI training purposes or in any scenario without user consent.

It reiterated that WPS remains in strict compliance with all applicable user privacy protection laws and standards. To further strengthen users’ trust, it will conduct periodic reviews of its privacy policy and compliance audits through a third-party independent organization.

“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and distress caused to you and would like to express our sincere gratitude to the users who pointed out this issue. We promise to continue our efforts to constantly improve our services to ensure that your data security and privacy are strictly protected,” the company added. 


Global Times