Apple to Pay $95 Million to Settle Siri Privacy Lawsuit
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging its Siri voice assistant violated users’ privacy. The preliminary settlement, filed Tuesday in the federal court in Oakland, California, awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
The lawsuit claims that Siri frequently recorded private conversations when unintentionally activated and shared the data with third parties, including advertisers. Voice assistants typically respond to “hot words” like “Hey, Siri,” but plaintiffs allege these activations led to privacy breaches.
Two plaintiffs reported receiving ads for Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden after mentioning them near their devices, while another said ads for a surgical treatment appeared after discussing it privately with his doctor.
The class period spans from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024, starting when the “Hey, Siri” feature was introduced. Class members, estimated in the tens of millions, could receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement. The company and its attorneys have not commented, nor have lawyers for the plaintiffs. These lawyers may request up to $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million for expenses from the settlement fund.
The $95 million settlement represents about nine hours of profit for Apple, which reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its last fiscal year.
A similar lawsuit involving Google’s Voice Assistant is pending in the same district, with the same law firms representing the plaintiffs.
The case is Lopez et al. v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.
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