Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit

Apple has agreed to settle a proposed class action lawsuit for $95 million in cash, addressing allegations that its voice-activated Siri assistant violated users' privacy.

The preliminary settlement, filed Tuesday evening in federal court in Oakland, California, awaits approval from US District Judge Jeffrey White.

Mobile device owners filed complaints stating that Apple had routinely recorded their private conversations after they accidentally activated Siri and shared these recordings with third parties, including advertisers.

Siri and other voice assistants are typically activated by "hot words" like "Hey, Siri."

Two plaintiffs claimed their mentions of Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered advertisements for those products. Another plaintiff said he received ads for a surgical treatment after discussing it, he believed privately, with his doctor.

The class period runs from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024, beginning when Siri introduced the "Hey, Siri" feature, which allegedly led to unauthorized recordings.

Class members, estimated to be in the tens of millions, could receive up to $20 for each Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.

Although Apple denied wrongdoing, it agreed to settle the case.

Apple and its legal representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday, nor did the plaintiffs' attorneys. The plaintiffs may seek up to $28.5 million in fees, plus $1.1 million for expenses, from the settlement fund.

The $95 million represents roughly nine hours of profit for Apple, which reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year.

A similar lawsuit against Google's Voice Assistant is ongoing in a federal court in San Jose, California, in the same district as the Oakland court. The plaintiffs in that case are represented by the same law firms handling the Apple case.