Apple to pay $95 million to settle privacy lawsuit over Siri recordings
By Daniel Levigh
Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement in a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging its Siri voice assistant violated users’ privacy.
According to Reuters’ report, the settlement, which awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, was filed on Tuesday and seeks to resolve claims that Apple recorded private conversations without consent and shared them with third parties, such as advertisers.
The lawsuit contends that Apple’s Siri assistant, activated by the “Hey, Siri” command, inadvertently recorded private conversations when triggered unintentionally.
Plaintiffs argued that these recordings were later used for targeted advertising.
Examples from the case
Examples from the case include a plaintiff who mentioned Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants received ads for those products.
Another reported seeing ads for a specific surgical treatment after discussing it privately with their doctor.
The unauthorized recordings allegedly began on September 17, 2014, when Apple introduced the “Hey, Siri” feature, and continued through December 31, 2024.
Compensation for affected users
Under the settlement terms, Apple may pay class members—estimated in the tens of millions—up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, including iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to seek $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million in expenses from the settlement fund.
Apple denies any wrongdoing but agreed to settle to avoid prolonged litigation. The tech giant has not issued a public comment on the case.
The settlement comes as Apple reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year, meaning the $95 million settlement equates to approximately nine hours of the company’s profit.
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