Siri’s secret recordings lead to a $95 million settlement. Could you get a share?

Apple has settled a class action lawsuit in which tens of millions of users can expect a slice of the payout.

Also: The first open-source, privacy-focused voice assistant for the home is here

On Tuesday, the iPhone maker agreed to pay $95 million to settle a 2019 lawsuit claiming that Siri violated the privacy of Apple users by recording their conversations, as reported by Reuters.

Lopez v. Apple, Inc.

Known as Lopez v. Apple, Inc., the class action lawsuit was filed by three plaintiffs who alleged that Apple programmed Siri to intercept conversations even when no hot word, such as “Hey Siri,” was spoken. Further, the plaintiffs claimed that Apple violated their privacy by sharing recordings of the conversations with third-party contractors.

Specifically, two of the plaintiffs said that mentioning Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants prompted ads for both products. The third plaintiff said he received ads for a surgical treatment after discussing it privately with his doctor.

In settling the suit, Apple has denied any wrongdoing on its part. Before the plaintiffs and Apple users can receive their slice of the payout, the settlement must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in the Oakland, Calif., federal court.

How much you could get

How much would the average Apple user stand to collect? That may depend on how many Apple devices you own. Though each individual payout would reach only as high as $20, that’s the amount per Siri-enabled device, according to Reuters. That could mean that the more devices in your household, the higher your overall payout.

However, the settlement specifically states that it applies to current or former owners of a Siri device in the US whose private conversations were obtained by Apple and/or shared with third parties due to an unintended activation by Siri between Sept. 17, 2014, and the settlement date. That description implies that the payout would be limited to Apple customers who were caught in the Siri snooping, and not all Siri users.

Also: The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT, Copilot, and notable alternatives

Further, the definition was modified at some point to include “owners” of Siri devices, as opposed to just “purchasers,” and dropped “household members” to reduce the potential for duplicate claims. Ultimately, each Apple user will just have to wait to see how many slices of the payout they actually receive. Assuming the judge approves the settlement, details on how to collect your cut should then be revealed.

The class action period runs from Sept. 17, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2024, encompassing more than 10 years of Siri use. The 2014 date marks Apple’s introduction of the phrase “Hey Siri” to trigger the voice assistant.

Damage to Apple’s reputation

For a company that earned $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year, $95 million represents only about nine hours of profit for Apple, Reuters explained. Although the payout won’t hurt Apple’s bottom line, there could be some damage to the company’s reputation.

Compared with the likes of Microsoft, Google, and other major tech players, Apple has always boasted about its commitment to privacy. Assuming the allegations in the lawsuit are true, the company doesn’t seem shy about bending or breaking its promises when it comes to protecting the privacy of its users.

People have expressed concerns about voice assistants snooping on their conversations and even sharing those conversations with third parties without consent. Even though Apple denied any such misdeeds, the settlement implies that the company didn’t want to fight the allegations, which puts it in a bad light.

Also: Apple reportedly prepping powerful new AI version of Siri for 2026

Before the lawsuit was even filed, The Guardian published a story in early 2019 about the alleged Siri privacy violations. Using info shared by a whistleblower, The Guardian reported that Apple contractors were able to hear confidential conversations as part of their job of quality control or grading of Siri’s responses.

To address the privacy concerns, Apple made specific changes to Siri in August 2019. The company suspended the human grading of Siri responses, promised to stop storing recordings of Siri conversations, and changed the Siri training based on audio samples to an opt-in process. Further, even for users who opted in to allow their conversations to be shared, the recordings would be accessible only to Apple employees and not outside contractors.

Google is also in the crosshairs

Apple isn’t the only large tech company in the crosshairs of such a lawsuit. A similar class action suit filed by users of Google’s voice assistant has charged the search giant with privacy violations, Reuters added. Being heard in a San Jose, Calif., federal court, the law firms representing the plaintiffs are the same ones who stand to gain in the Apple case.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Jan. 2, but it was updated on Jan. 3 with more information about the settlement.