Siri’s Unauthorized Eavesdropping Costs Apple Millions
By Movieguide® Contributor
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that personal assistant tool Siri has been recording iPhone users’ private conversations.
The legal battle has been going on since 2019 and was finally settled Dec. 31, 2024.
The original 2019 complaint stated, “Individuals who have purchased or used Siri Devices and interacted with Siri have not consented to Apple recording conversations where ‘Hey Siri’ was not uttered or where they did not otherwise perform a gesture intending to activate Siri, such as pressing and holding down the home button on a device for a certain period of time. Similarly, minors who did not purchase Apple products or set them up in their homes have not consented to these recordings.”
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So, why was Apple recording users’ conversations on the sly?
CBS News reported that Siri was “listening and recording conversations at other times to help improve the company’s technology,” adding, “Apple shared some of the conversations that Siri secretly recorded with advertisers looking to connect with consumers who were more likely to buy their products and services.”
The settlement has yet to be approved, but once it is, thousands of people will be eligible to claim a portion of the settlement.
“If you owned an Apple Siri-enabled device between Sept. 17, 2014, and Dec. 31 2024, you could be eligible to claim. You also need to be based in the U.S,” Forbes reported. “However, to get a share of the fee, you’ll need to swear under oath that you experienced Siri activating unintentionally and had private conversations recorded by the voice assistant.”
Apple has proposed a decision date of Feb. 14. Siri users will have until March 15, 2025, to file their claim.
READ MORE: HEY SIRI. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR NEW ‘HUMANLIKE’ FRIEND.
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