Oakland, California: Apple has reached a $95 million settlement in a lawsuit accusing its Siri voice assistant of recording private conversations without users’ consent. The lawsuit, filed in Oakland, California, alleged that Siri unintentionally recorded private discussions and shared this data with advertisers and third parties. This legal settlement is now awaiting approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
The plaintiffs argued that Siri, which is activated by the command “Hey, Siri,” occasionally recorded conversations even without the prompt, leading to unwanted advertisements for products discussed privately. According to the lawsuit, this breach of privacy violated users’ trust.
As part of the settlement, individuals who owned Siri-enabled devices between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, could be eligible to receive up to $20 per device. With tens of millions of users potentially affected, this payout could be significant. Legal representatives for the plaintiffs plan to request $28.5 million in attorney fees and $1.1 million in expenses from the settlement fund.
Although Apple denies any wrongdoing, it agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid prolonged litigation. The $95 million payout is relatively small for the tech giant, which recorded $93.74 billion in profits last year — about equivalent to Apple’s earnings in just nine hours.
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This lawsuit is part of an ongoing legal battle over tech companies’ handling of user privacy. Google, in a separate case, is also facing a similar lawsuit related to its Voice Assistant, with the same legal team representing the plaintiffs in both cases.
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The case, titled Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., was filed in the Northern District of California under case number 19-04577. While Apple has reached a settlement, the approval process for the agreement is still pending. This settlement serves as a reminder of growing concerns about tech companies’ management of user data and privacy.
