The Memo: Apple to pay $95 million in Siri privacy infringement lawsuit

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Apple to pay $95 million in Siri privacy infringement lawsuit

Madeleine Clarke - 13 January 2025

Following claims that its devices have been listening to users without their permission, Apple has agreed to pay a $95 million (£75 million) settlement. This snooping was allegedly done by Siri, the virtual assistant on Apple devices, as customers have complained that it recorded private conversations when they activated Siri by accident. More specifically, Apple introduced its “Hey, Siri” feature on 17 September 2014, which is the start date of this claim’s ten-year class period. 

Claimants also suggest that Apple shared voice recordings with advertisers to allow them to look for keywords and target adverts more effectively. For instance, users mentioning Air Jordans and Olive Garden allegedly triggered adverts for these products. One person claims he received ads for a brand name surgical procedure following a private conversation with his doctor about the procedure. 

Apple denies selling this data, so why has it chosen to settle? To avoid further litigation, the company says. By settling, Apple denies guilt while also avoiding a lengthy court process. While $95m sounds like a lot of money, Apple makes that amount in profit in just nine hours and could end up coughing up far more if the case were to go to trial. 

This is a class action lawsuit, a type of case where a smaller number of people than the total number affected go to court on behalf of the larger group. If a class action is successful, the payout is shared by all claimants. In this case, each claimant (and there are estimated to be tens of millions of them) could be paid up to $20 per Siri-enabled device owned between 2014 and 2019. To be eligible for compensation, they must be based in the US. 

In recent years, Apple has faced several class actions, both in the US and further afield. In January 2024, it settled a lawsuit over its deliberate slowing down of iPhones in the US and began paying out $500m (£394m), at roughly $92 (£72) per claim. Just after that, in March 2024, the company agreed to pay $490m (£385m) in a class action led by Norfolk County Council. This suit claimed that the company’s head, Tim Cook, defrauded shareholders by covering up a lower demand for iPhones in China. And, as a final example, in November 2024, the consumer group Which? started its own class action against Apple for allegedly ripping off customers for its iCloud services.