Apple settles Siri privacy lawsuit
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that its Siri voice assistant inadvertently recorded users' private conversations.
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Key Takeaways
- Settlement Amount: Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that its Siri voice assistant inadvertently recorded users' private conversations.
- Eligibility Period: The settlement covers U.S. customers who owned Siri-enabled devices between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024.
- Potential Compensation: Eligible individuals may receive up to $20 per device, with a maximum of five devices per person.
- Privacy Concerns: The lawsuit stemmed from claims that Siri was sometimes activated unintentionally, capturing private conversations that Apple contractors then overheard.
- Apple's Response: While Apple denies any wrongdoing, it has agreed to the settlement and will implement measures to enhance user privacy.
Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging that its Siri voice assistant inadvertently recorded users' private conversations without consent. Mobile device owners complained that Apple routinely recorded their private conversations after they unintentionally activated Siri and disclosed these conversations to third parties such as advertisers.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2019, claimed that Siri sometimes activated unintentionally, leading to the recording of confidential conversations. Sometimes Siri would be inadvertently activated, a whistleblower told The Guardian, when an Apple Watch was raised and speech was detected. The only clue users seemingly had of Siri's leak were eerily accurate targeted ads after they had just been talking about specific items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted.
The proposed settlement, which awaits judicial approval, applies to U.S. customers who owned Siri-enabled devices between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024. Eligible individuals may receive up to $20 per device, with a cap of five per person. The actual payout may vary depending on the number of claims submitted.
While Apple denies any wrongdoing, it has agreed to the settlement to avoid prolonged litigation. As part of the agreement, Apple will ensure that individual Siri audio recordings obtained before October 2019 are permanently deleted within six months of the settlement taking effect. Additionally, Apple will provide users with more straightforward information on how to opt in to improve Siri's performance.
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