Apple has agreed to pay $95 million in a class-action settlement alleging that third-party contractors inadvertently recorded and listened to Siri’s private conversations.
If U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White approves the proposed agreementfiled Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, CA, affected users will receive up to $20 per Apple device with Siri, such as the iPhone and Apple Watch.
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The lawsuit focuses on customer complaints that Siri was activated inadvertently and a 2019 report from a whistleblower via the guardian that Apple contractors listened to voice recordings while performing quality control tests. This included “sensitive medical information, drug deals and recordings of couples having sex,” according to the investigation. Siri is supposed to only be activated by hearing the wake word “hey Siri,” but there have been reported cases where Siri was activated by other things, such as the sound of a zipper, an Apple Watch standing up in a certain way, and hearing a voice.
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Apple users claimed that private conversations were recorded and then shared with third-party advertisers. They would then see advertisements for products mentioned in certain conversations and even a surgical treatment after discussing it with their doctor. Apple later formally apologized and said it would no longer save voice recordings.
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The lawsuit covers the period from September 17, 2014 to December 31, 2024. For Apple users to claim their share of the settlement, they must file a claim for up to five Apple devices with Siri (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch or Apple TV) and swear under oath that they inadvertently activated Siri “during a conversation intended to be confidential or private,” according to the agreement. proposal.
Apple is not the only company in trouble for privacy violations committed by voice assistants. Google is in the middle of a similar situation. class action lawsuit regarding activating Google Assistant without its wake words.