Apple has consented to a payment of $95 million (€92.3m) to resolve a lawsuit that alleged its digital assistant Siri was listening to users’ private conversations.
The proposed settlement, outlined in a court filing obtained yesterday, was accompanied by Apple maintaining that it did nothing wrong.
“Apple has at all times denied and continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing and liability,” stated the tech giant in the proposed settlement, which awaits judicial approval to be finalized.
A class action lawsuit filed five years prior accused Siri of eavesdropping on private conversations of individuals using iPhones, iPads, HomePods, or other Apple devices equipped with the digital assistant.
The lawsuit claimed that conversations captured through “unintended Siri activation” were accessed by Apple and potentially shared with third parties.
The proposed settlement fund of $95m aims to provide up to $20 per Siri device to US users whose private conversations were recorded without consent, as noted in the settlement.
The agreement also mandates that Apple affirm it has deleted any overheard conversations and clarify user choices regarding voice data collected to enhance Siri.
Apple did not provide an immediate response to a request for comments.
In 2023, Amazon reached a settlement of over $30m with the US Federal Trade Commission in a case alleging privacy violations related to its Ring doorbell cameras and Alexa digital assistant.
