Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused its voice assistant, Siri, of violating users’ privacy. The proposed settlement, filed in a California federal court, will compensate millions of mobile device owners who claim that Siri recorded their private conversations.
The lawsuit centres around complaints from users who said Siri would start recording their conversations without their knowledge. This often happened after the voice assistant was activated unintentionally, and the recordings were allegedly shared with third parties, including advertisers. The plaintiffs argue that these recordings, made without consent, were then used to target them with personalised ads.
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One of the key issues in the case is Siri’s “Hey, Siri” feature, which activates the assistant. Plaintiffs in the case claimed that their private conversations, including mentions of brands like Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants, triggered ads for those products. Another plaintiff said they received ads for a surgical treatment brand after discussing it privately with their doctor, reports Reuters.
The class period for this lawsuit spans from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024. This is when Siri introduced the “Hey, Siri” feature, which allegedly led to the unauthorised recordings. The settlement will provide compensation of up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, including iPhones and Apple Watches, for users who are part of the class.
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Apple has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the case to avoid further legal battles. The lawyers representing the plaintiffs may seek up to $28.5 million in legal fees, along with $1.1 million in expenses from the settlement fund.
The $95 million settlement is a small fraction of Apple’s profits, which amounted to $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year. In a similar case, Google is facing a lawsuit over its Voice Assistant, with the same law firms representing the plaintiffs.