Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that Siri violated users’ privacy by recording and sharing private conversations without consent. The settlement, filed in a federal court in Oakland, California, awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
Eligible individuals include U.S. residents who owned or purchased Siri-enabled devices between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024. Claimants may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, with a limit of five devices per person. Eligible devices include iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, iMacs, HomePods, iPod touches, and Apple TVs.
The lawsuit claimed that Siri sometimes recorded conversations unintentionally, especially when activated without the “Hey Siri” command. These recordings were allegedly shared with third parties, including advertisers. Some plaintiffs reported receiving targeted ads based on private conversations recorded by Siri.
Apple denies any wrongdoing but chose to settle to avoid further legal proceedings.
The $95 million settlement means about nine hours of profit for Apple, based on its recent fiscal year net income of $93.74 billion. Lawyers for the plaintiffs may seek up to $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million for expenses from the settlement fund.
A similar lawsuit against Google’s Voice Assistant is pending in the same district court.
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