According to a reliable report, Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a high-profile lawsuit regarding Siri, aiming to avoid a prolonged legal battle.
After more than five years of legal proceedings against Apple for allegedly recording user interactions with the Siri voice assistant without consent, the case has reached its conclusion with Apple agreeing to the settlement. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, accused Apple of recording user conversations without their permission and sharing the data with third-party services. This raised concerns about the use of such information for targeted advertising.
The lawsuit revolved around the “Hey Siri” voice activation feature, with plaintiffs claiming that Apple recorded and stored their voices without prior notice or consent. Under the settlement, users of Siri-enabled devices such as iPhones and Apple Watches are eligible to receive up to $20 per affected device. While the exact number of eligible users is unclear, estimates suggest that tens of millions of individuals could qualify.
Notably, Apple has denied any wrongdoing despite agreeing to the settlement. The company emphasized that its actions have always prioritized user privacy and stated that the agreement was made solely to avoid prolonged litigation. Nevertheless, this case has led to changes in Apple’s approach to Siri’s privacy policies.
In response to the 2019 lawsuit and related reports, Apple implemented several measures to improve user privacy. These included internal reviews of Siri-related processes, adjustments to third-party contractor access, introducing new permission requests for Siri recordings, and launching the “Ask App Not to Track” privacy feature, which allows users to block apps from tracking their activities.
Although the changes in question were made after the lawsuit was filed, Apple emphasizes that these actions do not equate to an admission of guilt but were implemented solely to increase transparency and give users more control over their data. Interestingly, according to a Reuters report, the $95 million settlement is equivalent to about 9 hours of Apple’s profits. While this amount is significant for users, it is relatively small compared to Apple’s revenue, making the acceptance of such a settlement unsurprising for the company.
Details on how users will receive their share of the settlement have not yet been disclosed. It is expected that once the agreement is finalized and approved by the judge, further information will be released. Affected users will need to wait for official announcements on how to proceed. This case highlights the growing importance of user privacy in the digital world and the need for tech companies to be accountable for how they collect and use user data.