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Key Takeaways
- Apple has agreed to a potential $95 million settlement over privacy issues related to Siri, the company’s voice-activated digital assistant.
- The settlement, which has to be approved by a judge, could award certain Apple device owners as much as $20 per device, for up to five devices.
- The class action suit followed 2019 reports that recordings of private conversations when Siri had accidentally been activated were shared with third-party contractors.
Apple (AAPL) this week agreed to a proposed $95 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging that some customers had private conversations, recorded after they accidentally activated voice assistant Siri, shared with third-party contractors.
Anyone who possessed a Siri-enabled device after Sept. 17, 2014, could be eligible to claim part of the settlement. Claimants will have to swear under oath that they experienced Siri unintentionally activating and that they had what they thought would be a private conversation recorded by Siri. The proposed settlement would cap payouts at $100 per person—$20 per device, up to five devices.
Apple Contractors Reportedly Heard Private Conversations
The suit followed a 2019 story from The Guardian alleging Siri recordings of private conversations were “regularly” heard by non-Apple employees. One third-party contractor, tasked with evaluating the quality of Siri’s responses, said they had heard doctors discussing medical details with patients. They told The Guardian that the sound of a zipper or an Apple Watch being raised could trigger Siri and record several seconds of conversation.
The settlement would still have to be approved by the judge overseeing the case, and up to 30% of the settlement fund ($28.5 million) could go to the attorneys who brought the suit.
The tech giant has denied any wrongdoing, and at the time of the initial story told The Guardian that just a small percentage of Siri recordings were forwarded to contractors for evaluation.
