Judge grants preliminary approval of $95 million settlement in Apple’s Siri eavesdropping suit

OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — Roughly a month after Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action accusing it of eavesdropping on users who accidentally activated the virtual assistant Siri on their iPhones and other Apple devices, a federal judge preliminarily approved the settlement Monday morning in an 11-page order.

When Apple agreed to settle on Dec. 31, it did not acknowledge that it was guilty of any wrongdoing.

The preliminary approval moves the case ever closer to the end of more than five years of litigation. As part of the settlement agreement, Apple must permanently delete any relevant individual audio recordings the company collected before October 2019 within six months of its approval. A final approval hearing for the settlement is set for Aug. 1 in Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White’s Oakland courtroom. White is a George W. Bush appointee.

The plaintiffs claimed in their 2019 complaint that Apple violated their privacy by recording their private conversations through the Siri voice assistant without being prompted via its typical voice command of “Hey, Siri!” or through a button press.

The plaintiffs also claimed they were not aware that Apple was disclosing the recorded conversations to human third-party contractors to review them to improve Siri and were also unaware that Apple shared the data with advertisers.

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. Apple apologized for “not living up to our high ideals” in 2019.

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.

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.

As part of the preliminary approval of the settlement, White appointed Angeion Group to serve as the settlement administrator. Angeion has helped settle consumer litigation against Apple in the past.

The consumer class will be notified by email, postcard, and full class documents. Apple has 30 days to provide Angeion with the names and contact information of all members of the settlement class for whom it has records.

Consumers looking to submit a claim must do so by submitting a form online or by mail within 135 days.

If the settlement falls through for any reason, the settlement agreement will be null and void, and the plaintiffs and Apple will resume their battle from where they left off before agreeing to settle the claims.

Counsel for the plaintiffs did not respond to requests for comment. Counsel for Apple and Apple media relations did not respond to requests for comment.