Apple to pay $95 million in settlement over Siri eavesdropping

OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — There’s no way to start off the New Year like a seven-figure settlement.

Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action accusing the tech company of eavesdropping on users who accidentally activated the virtual assistant Siri on their iPhones and other Apple devices. The settlement, which has yet to be approved by a judge, will close the chapter on more than five years of legal battles with the Silicon Valley giant.

Besides the hefty price tag, the agreement also requires Apple to permanently delete any relevant individual audio recordings the company collected before October 2019 within six months of its approval.

Apple didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California.

Attorneys for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After just over five years in court, attorneys for both sides sat down for negotiations in October.

As part of the settlement, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of 2024 are eligible to file claims.

Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device covered by the settlement, although the payment may vary based on the amount of claims submitted. Consumers will be limited to five devices for their claims.

Only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims, according to court documents.

Of the total $95 million, the case’s attorneys may seek up to $28.6 million to cover their fees and other costs. The case’s lead plaintiffs could also earn up to $10,000 each as compensation for their time and effort serving as class representatives.

Class members are expected to be contacted about the settlement via email information provided by Apple. A settlement administrator also plans to publicize it via a print and digital media campaign.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2019, claimed that Apple violated users’ privacy by recording their private conversations through Siri without being prompted via its typical voice command of “Hey, Siri!” or through a button press.  However, users aren’t typically aware that humans and not just computers are reviewing audio.

The plaintiffs further claimed that Apple disclosed these conversations to human third-party contractors to review them to improve Siri or otherwise shared the data with advertisers to improve their ad targeting.

Around the time the lawsuit was filed, The Guardian reported the conversations being reviewed included confidential medical information, drug deals and recordings of couples having sex.

Shortly after, Apple issued an apology, saying it reviewed its practices and would be suspending any further listening by humans.

“As a result of our review, we realize we haven’t been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize,” the company said in 2019.

The settlement still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, a Bush appointee, before it can take effect.

A hearing for the settlement is scheduled for early February.

Courthouse News reached out to the plaintiffs’ attorneys for comment, but none could be reached by press time.