Apple has agreed to pay $95 million (£77 million) to settle a lawsuit claiming some of its devices listened to people without their consent.
The tech giant faced allegations that its virtual assistant, Siri, eavesdropped on users and shared voice recordings with advertisers. While Apple has denied any wrongdoing, it agreed to settle the case.
According to the settlement, Apple denies claims that it “recorded, shared, or failed to delete conversations” triggered by Siri without user consent. The company’s lawyers stated that Siri recordings collected before October 2019 have been permanently deleted.
However, the claimants argue that Siri sometimes recorded users unintentionally, even without the activation phrase, “Hey Siri.” They also allege that advertisers who received these recordings used them to identify keywords and target ads more effectively.
The case is a class-action lawsuit, meaning a small group of people represents a larger group affected by the issue. If the settlement is approved, US-based claimants could receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device owned between 2014 and 2019. Apple has proposed a decision date of 14 February 2025 in an Oakland, California court.
Lawyers in the case may receive up to 30% of the settlement amount, or about $30 million, including expenses.
By settling, Apple avoids a potentially larger payout in court while denying any wrongdoing. The company reported earnings of $94.9 billion in the three months ending September 2024.
Apple has faced several class-action lawsuits recently. In January 2024, it started paying $500 million to settle claims it slowed down iPhones in the US. In March, it agreed to a $490 million settlement in the UK. Another lawsuit from November accuses Apple of overcharging iCloud users.