According to a report, contractors working for Microsoft have access to and have listened to Xbox users speaking in their homes.
Microsoft has said in the past that they correct voice data to enhance the voice command experience for their users but we're now learning that there have been many recordings made and saved from inside customer homes by mistake following the user using words like "Hey Cortana" and "XBox" near their systems.
A former contractor admitted that most of the voices they heard were that of children adding, "The Xbox stuff was actually a bit of a welcome respite, honestly. It was frequently the same games. Same DLCs. Same types of commands," they added. "'Xbox give me all the games for free' or 'Xbox download [newest Minecraft skins pack]' or whatever,"
"Most of the Xbox related stuff I can recall doing was obviously unintentional activations with people telling Cortana 'No' as they were obviously in the middle of a game and doing normal game chat," a current contractor told Vice.
Microsoft has been very transparent in their terms and conditions (that I'm sure you all read thoroughly before agreeing to) about what's recorded and why and the "Hey Cortana" voice control features have been hardware but can still be controlled via voice on their Android and iOS app. None of this should come as a surprise but it is still a bit jarring knowing for sure that it had happened.
Hopefully you haven't said anything too embarrassing around your Xbox!