Apple Agrees to Pay $95 Million in Lawsuit Over Alleged Unauthorized Listening by Siri
In a significant turn of events, Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement to resolve allegations that its voice-activated assistant, Siri, was unintentionally activated, capturing private conversations and sharing recordings without proper user consent[1][3].
The lawsuit, Lopez et al. v. Apple Inc., was filed in federal court in Oakland, California, and covered users from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024. It alleged that Siri recorded private discussions due to unintended activations of the trigger word "Hey Siri"[1].
Whistleblower and former Apple contractor Thomas le Bonniec revealed that Siri recordings were reviewed by contractors without explicit user consent before iOS 13.2, which introduced an opt-in program and the ability to delete stored recordings[3].
Apple, however, denied wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to compensate affected users. The settlement offers up to $20 per eligible device, with a total settlement amount of $95 million[1].
The settlement also requires Apple to confirm deletion of Siri recordings before 2019 and provide clearer guidance on data collection and user consent[3].
It is worth noting that Siri can be activated by various ambient sounds and without the use of a trigger word or phrase[2]. This means that in many cases, Siri would begin collecting consumer information without any explicit activation.
The regularity of triggers on Siri devices such as the Apple watch is 'incredibly high'[2]. Apple knows that unauthorized recordings are common and tasks its human reviewers with identifying whether Siri was deliberately activated or not[4].
Some consumers who participated in the lawsuit reported receiving targeted advertisements for products they discussed with Siri, but this is not mentioned in the current paragraph[5]. The terms of the proposed settlement permit Apple to deny any and all wrongdoing[6].
If the settlement is approved, each class member could be paid up to $20 for each Siri-enabled device owned between 2014 and 2019. Despite the settlement, Apple has not informed consumers they are being regularly recorded without consent, and it has no system in place to deal with accidental recordings[7].
This settlement is a result of Siri’s unintended activations and record-keeping practices that violated users’ privacy rights, leading to significant legal consequences for Apple.
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