• Apple will pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming Siri recorded private conversations without consent and shared them with third parties.
  • The lawsuit covers a class period from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024, and class members may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused its voice assistant, Siri, of violating users' privacy. The lawsuit claims that Siri unintentionally recorded private conversations and shared these recordings with third parties, including advertisers.

A preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday night in federal court in Oakland, California, and is awaiting approval by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. The class action affects mobile device owners who use Siri-enabled devices such as iPhones and Apple Watches, with the class period running from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024. The lawsuit alleges that the "Hey, Siri" feature triggered unauthorized recordings.

Plaintiffs in the case reported instances where their private conversations led to targeted ads. Two individuals noted that discussing Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered ads for those products. Another plaintiff claimed that an ad for a brand-name surgical treatment followed a private conversation with his doctor.

Class members, estimated in the tens of millions, may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device. While Apple denies any wrongdoing, the settlement is intended to resolve the dispute. The plaintiffs' lawyers may seek up to $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million for expenses.

The $95 million settlement amount represents a small fraction of Apple's vast profits, which reached $93.74 billion in net income for the latest fiscal year.

A similar lawsuit against Google’s Voice Assistant is currently pending in federal court in San Jose, California. Both cases are being represented by the same law firms.

The case is Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah