> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://pete.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # When accessibility looks like surveillance - URL: https://pete.news/hellocomputer/when-accessibility-looks-like-surveillance/ - Published: 2026-09-18T14:13:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-18T14:13:07.000Z - Description: Why disabled people sometimes need the technology everyone else fears - Author: Pete Carr - Tags: #HelloComputer, HelloComputer, disability, Deaf, Pacing, Apple Watch --- # When accessibility looks like surveillance ## Why disabled people sometimes need the technology everyone else fears This year’s Apple Watch update, the Series 12, is actually an interesting one to look at. Often the watch launches with very few new features. The 11 added better battery life, while several of the health features shown in its [promo videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVFOOnecU5k) were also made available on older models. But this year the 12 has some interesting new accessibility features for deaf people and those suffering from chronic fatigue. First up, Siri Recap. Remember people were incorrectly worrying about their smart speakers listening to them? Well, get worrying because the new Apple Watch can spend all day listening to you. Or you could perhaps see the utility in an always listening device for deaf people. Depending on how you set it up your watch could always be listening to conversations around you in order to provide a daily or conversation summary. As a deaf person, I find this interesting. Unfortunately the rest of the internet disagrees and now sees the Apple Watch as a creepy pervert watch for surveillance. I get the fear, but it's a shame. [iJustine on Instagram: “Live rewind and Siri Recap!”2,296 likes, 32 comments - ijustine on September 9, 2026: “Live rewind and Siri Recap!”.![](https://pete.news/content/images/icon/rzWiSjZRxk5-2ccb542a-3136-471f-bcf0-8d33be9e61ba.webp)Instagram![](https://pete.news/content/images/thumbnail/801439369_921291420629872_4454031351108692459_n-d1b57227-693e-4781-8266-3897ee2e40a9.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DdE1n-tmW-1/) Meta and Ray-Ban made glasses that can genuinely help blind people in everyday life. But people are turning against those glasses. I saw [a jokey post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdJGDrbiIq4/?stkn=OXNhZTg2aGQwaDZy)suggesting putting signs up on the trains to publicly shame people wearing the Meta glasses. A few people tried to point out the utility of them for blind people and were shouted down. C'mon, not cool. Apple have potentially made a new feature that might aid deaf people in everyday life. I recently tried out the note taking app Notion’s AI transcribe feature during a meeting and it was a complete game changer. It didn’t just take notes and summarise the meeting. It grouped all the parts of the project together in a useful way with headings, and even created task lists based on our discussions. As someone dealing with deafness and post-covid brain fog, this was an incredible tool to use. That experience made me wonder whether Siri Recap could offer the same sort of utility on the Watch. Thing is, while people are fearful of this technology I have to ask if they have ever tried it? The multiple times I’ve used my phone as a live transcribing device have been woeful. Even in a quiet room it makes many, many mistakes. That’s on a phone with multiple microphones on a table in the middle of a group. A watch on a wrist is going to be bad. So I’m not particularly worried about the Watch secretly recording every conversation around me. If the transcription is anything like my experience with phones, it will probably struggle to understand half of what I’m saying. ![A digital transcription shows a conversation about preparing food, specifically mentioning a knife and cooking with oil. The speaker expresses uncertainty about what brand is popular, referencing "Fifty Queen" and noting they have read about it but find it unappealing due to its size. The background is a blue interface with a microphone icon.](https://pete.news/content/images/2026/09/IMG_3517-Edited.jpg) Screenshot of Live Transcribe feature on iOS The second main feature on the Apple Watch Series 12 is HRV (Heart Rate Variability) tracking. This single update means the Apple Watch will track your heart rate many more times a day leading to a more accurate picture of your fitness and fatigue levels. For those people who use a Visible wrist strap for pacing with an Apple Watch, this could mean you no longer need the wrist strap. I have previously used both [Garmin](https://pete.news/hellocomputer/pacing-not-pushing/) and [Visible](https://pete.news/hellocomputer/3-months-with-the-visible-wrist-strap/) devices to track my energy levels in ways that the Apple Watch previously couldn’t. While I was suffering from Chronic Fatigue I needed something to tell me when I was overdoing it. At the time, the Apple Watch simply couldn’t track that data. But now it can and I am curious to see what the outcome will be. The way my current Apple Watch Series 10 works is to check my heart rate a few times a day. It’s entirely possible that I over-exert myself between the times it checks meaning I get no notification to slow down. By constantly tracking my vitals, the Apple Watch will immediately know if I’m overdoing it. But the question is, will it? The Apple Watch is a fitness tracker not an illness tracker. It took years before Apple added a “rest day” feature. Before that you had to always be closing your rings, whether you were in a coma or not. I doubt Apple will add any features to track fatigue and chronic illness, but maybe 3rd parties might. It’s entirely possible Visible will add support for the Apple Watch meaning you would no longer need their £60 strap. And if Visible don’t add support, it’s entirely possible someone else might make an app that helps with pacing. So that’s the new Apple Watch Series 12\. The HRV tracking could become an essential feature, even if I don’t need it for pacing. I’m excited to see what 3rd party developers do with that data. As for Siri Recap, would I use it? Maybe, if it worked but I doubt it will. I can’t see how the Apple Watch could get clear enough audio to accurately document my day. Whether I use it or not, the conversation is going to be about the watch always listening. People won’t care if it’s accurate, turned off or providing utility for deafness. They already don’t when it comes to the blind and Meta Ray-bans, and that’s a real problem. Disabled people can't get by with positive vibes only. We need tools to help and while I dislike Meta their glasses do help. The new Apple Watch may also help deaf people and those with chronic fatigue. But for the majority it might become a symbol of moral panic, creating another situation where disabled people have to justify using the technology that helps them. So what’s the biggest issue? Devices always listening to you, or you always listening to devices beyond your control. [Leave a tip?](https://pete.news/#/portal/support) ## Sign up for pete.news A neuroqueer photographer tries to figure life out. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- ![A view from the water’s surface, capturing gentle waves rolling toward a historic building on the shore. The structure, with a white facade and multiple flags flying on its roof, stands against a backdrop of a cloudy sky that hints at a changing weather. The scene conveys a sense of tranquility and connection to the marine environment.](https://pete.news/content/images/2026/09/New-Brighton-Marine-Lake-DSCF8359_Pete-Carr.jpg) Fort Perch Rock from the marine lake --- # Links - [Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 review: More personal than ever before](https://9to5mac.com/2026/09/17/apple-watch-series-12-and-ultra-4-review/). The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are all about what’s happening underneath. Headlined by a new... - [The Apple Watch Series 12 Is All About the Details](https://www.wired.com/review/apple-watch-series-12/). After wearing it day and night for a week, I found that better health tracking, faster charging, and a simpler interface make Apple’s latest smartwatch noticeably easier to live with. - [Apple's Watch Series 12 made a wellness zealot out of me](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/apple-watch-series-12-review). Apple's new Health Sensing System is a major boost for your wellness, even if you think you don't need it - [Pokémon Is For The Gays](https://aftermath.site/pokemon-lgbtq-san-francisco-coyote/). This year, the Pokémon World Championships are in San Francisco — so here are the many reasons why Pokémon is gay as hell - [Channel swimmer Beth French on jellyfish, living with ME and her autistic son](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/49083125). Marathon swimmer Beth French attempted a physical challenge that no-one had ever done - all while living with ME. --- ![A lifeguard tower stands on a pier, with turbulent waves partially obscuring the view from the water's surface. Dark, moody clouds fill the sky, hinting at an impending storm, while a few scattered birds can be seen overhead. The scene conveys a sense of calm tension between the sea and the approaching weather.](https://pete.news/content/images/2026/09/New-Brighton-Marine-Lake-DSCF8367_Pete-Carr.jpg) Lifeguard hut from the marine lake