Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that its Siri voice assistant recorded users’ private conversations without consent and shared them with third parties, such as advertisers.
The lawsuit claimed that Siri was inadvertently activated, capturing confidential discussions.
Some users reported receiving targeted advertisements after mentioning specific products, suggesting that their conversations had been recorded and shared.
Apple has denied any wrongdoing in the case, despite agreeing to a $95 million preliminary settlement.
The company stated that it did not improperly record, share, or retain conversations unintentionally captured by Siri, maintaining its commitment to user privacy.
Apple’s lawyers have confirmed that they will permanently delete individual Siri audio recordings collected before October 2019.
However, the claimants argue that the company recorded conversations from users who activated Siri unintentionally, without using the “Hey, Siri” command.
Apple has proposed a decision date of February 14 in the Oakland, California court.
Class action lawsuits involve a small group of individuals representing a larger group of affected people in legal proceedings.
If the lawsuit succeeds, the settlement will be shared among all eligible claimants. Court documents indicate that each claimant, who must be based in the U.S., could receive up to $20 for each Siri-enabled device they owned between 2014 and 2019.
