Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that its virtual assistant Siri eavesdropped on users without their knowledge. The preliminary settlement was filed on December 13, 2024, in Oakland, California, and awaits approval by a U.S. district judge.
Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri eavesdropping lawsuit
The lawsuit, initiated by the Wood Law Firm in August 2019, claims that Apple infringed on users’ privacy by capturing and sharing Siri conversations when the voice assistant was accidentally activated. These allegations resurfaced after a report by The Guardian revealed that Apple employed contractors to listen to recordings of private conversations, including discussions about medical appointments, sexual encounters, and drug deals.
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According to the lawsuit, despite Apple stating that Siri recordings could be reviewed, it did not disclose that human oversight of the voice assistant occurred. The plaintiffs also argued that Apple failed to inform users that their private conversations were being recorded without consent. In one instance, plaintiffs noticed targeted ads for Air Jordan shoes and medical treatments after discussing those topics while using Siri.
Eligibility and claims process
Individuals who owned an Apple Siri-enabled device between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, may be eligible to claim a share of the settlement, provided they are based in the U.S. To qualify, claimants must attest under oath that they experienced Siri activating unintentionally and had private conversations recorded.
A decision date for the settlement has been proposed for February 14, 2025. A claims website will be launched within 45 days of the approval, and users will have until May 15, 2025, to file their claims.
Settlement details and legal costs
Eligible Siri users can receive a payout of $20 per device, with claims allowed for up to five devices for a potential total of $100. However, the final amount may vary based on the total number of claims and the legal fees deducted from the settlement fund. Attorneys in the case could receive up to 30% of the settlement, leaving approximately $30 million for legal costs.
The settlement amount reflects a small fraction of Apple’s financial standing, which reported $93.74 billion in profits for the latest fiscal year, and an estimated total profit exceeding $700 billion since 2014.
While Apple has denied any wrongdoing concerning the allegations and insists that any data collected from Siri is anonymized and not linked to specific users, the settlement is intended to mitigate the risk of costly litigation. Reports suggest that Apple could have faced $1.5 billion in damages if the case had gone to trial.
Similar legal actions are underway against Google concerning its voice assistant’s practices, highlighting ongoing concerns surrounding privacy and data collection in voice-activated technologies.
Those concerned about privacy can disable Siri by going to Settings on iOS devices and navigating to Siri & Search, toggling off the appropriate options. Users can also restrict microphone access to specific applications within their device settings (Settings > Siri > Talk to Siri > Off).
Featured image credit: Giorgio Trovato/Unsplash
