Apple reaches $95 million settlement in Siri lawsuit. What to know.
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Apple agreed to a proposed settlement but denies "any and all alleged wrongdoing." Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action claiming its voice-activated Siri assistant violated users' privacy by recording conversations, according to court documents.
Why it matters: The tech giant said in the preliminary settlement agreement that it "continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing and liability."
- The settlement filed last Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court still requires approval by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
The latest: An Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Axios that "Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy from the beginning" and its "data has never been used to build marketing profiles and it has never been sold to anyone for any purpose."
- "Apple settled this case to avoid additional litigation so we can move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019," the spokesperson said. "We use Siri data to improve Siri, and we are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private."
Flashback: In 2019, Apple suspended a program that had contractors listening to some Siri queries and apologized for how it handled recordings, Axios' Ina Fried reported.
- The resulting lawsuit, filed in 2019, alleges recordings happened even when users didn't say the prompt "Hey, Siri."
Apple settlement: Who is eligible to claim $20
The big picture: Individuals who purchased or owned devices with Siri enabled between Sept. 17, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2024, may receive up to $20 per device under the proposed settlement.
- The amount "will increase or decrease pro rata depending on the total number of valid claims submitted, and Siri Devices claimed," documents show.
- "Settlement Class Members may submit claims for up to five Siri Devices on which they claim to have experienced an unintended Siri activation during a conversation intended to be confidential or private," the preliminary settlement says.
Eligible Apple devices include iPhone, iPad, MacBook
Between the lines: A "Siri device" includes a Siri-enabled iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch or Apple TV, the court documents show.
Apple lawsuit claim form
Yes, but: The claim form, which customers must fill out to receive their payments, is expected to be available after the settlement is approved.
- It will require that claimants confirm under oath that they "purchased or owned a Siri Device in the United States or its territories, and enabled Siri on that device."
- They also need to claim under oath that they "experienced at least one unintended Siri activation" and that it "occurred during a conversation intended to be confidential or private."
Editor's note: This story, which was originally published Jan. 3, was updated with a statement from Apple.
More from Axios:
