Apple's recent Siri lawsuit settlement costs them a whopping $95 million

Apple will pay $95 million if Siri, its now-AI-powered voice assistant, unintentionally records your private conversations in a recent lawsuit settlement.

The settlement, pending court approval, could provide eligible US-based users up to $20 per device for a maximum of five Siri-enabled devices purchased between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024. To qualify, claimants must attest under oath that Siri was accidentally activated during confidential conversations.

“Under the terms of (the) plan of allocation in the proposed Settlement, Settlement Class Members who make valid claims will receive a pro-rata payment based on the number of Siri Devices claimed, with a cap of $20 per device,” the document reads.

Plaintiffs have previously reported incidents where Siri activation led to targeted ads, including sensitive topics like medical treatments. Apple denies wrongdoing but agreed to settle nonetheless.

Years ago, The Guardian also reported that third-party contractors who oversee Siri’s quality overheard sensitive conversations like “drug deals, medical details and people having sex.”

These recordings, triggered accidentally by Siri’s activation, were not explicitly disclosed in Apple’s privacy documentation. Similar practices were also found at Amazon and Google, where workers are employed to hear the conversations, though Apple does not provide an opt-out option for users without disabling Siri entirely.

The news came at a crucial time as Apple integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT across its platforms, including Siri. That means, you can ask a complex question to Siri and it’ll tap into the chatbot’s expertise to answer them.