Apple agrees to US$95m settlement in Siri privacy class-action case

Apple has reached a settlement agreement over privacy concerns with Siri's recordings. Photo / 123RF

Apple has agreed to end a five-year legal battle over user privacy related to its virtual assistant Siri with a US$95 million ($169m) payout to affected customers, according to a preliminary settlement.

The company, one of the most valuable in the world, signed off on the payment to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming its virtual assistant Siri can be accidentally activated, and subsequently record parts of people’s conversations without their consent. Apple then violated its users’ privacy, plaintiffs alleged, by sending those recordings to third parties.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said in the settlement agreement filed on Tuesday that it “continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing”.

Siri, which originally debuted as a stand-alone virtual assistant app, became a hallmark feature of the iPhone when Apple embedded it into the iPhone 4S in 2011. In a bid to make the tool more capable and responsive, Apple launched a feature called “Hey Siri” in 2014, which allowed users to activate the assistant by speaking its wake words rather than pressing a button.

However, users eventually found that Siri could be overzealous in listening for its wake words. And when Siri mistakenly thought it was being invoked, it would begin recording audio clips of moments it was never meant to hear. Those clips, meanwhile, sometimes found their way to human contractors around the world who would review them - and get an earful of conversations and confidential dealings in the process.

The terms of the settlement, which are still subject to approval by the court, also require that Apple “confirm” the deletion of Siri audio recordings it collected before October 2019 and publish a webpage that explains more fully what it means to opt into the company’s “Improve Siri” program.

Anyone in the US who has noticed Siri listening when it’s not supposed to will be able to file a claim, whether the settlement administrator contacts them or not.

To qualify for a share of the settlement payout, an Apple user must have purchased or owned a “Siri device” - which includes Siri-enabled iPhones, iPads, HomePod speakers, Mac computers, Apple Watches and Apple TVs - between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024.

Claimants must also confirm under oath that they have experienced Siri perking up to listen without being specifically activated, and that an accidental activation occurred in the midst of a “conversation intended to be private”. As usual, though, people forfeit their right to sue Apple for related claims if they take the settlement.

If US District Judge Jeffrey S. White signs off on the settlement agreement as it stands, an individual will be able to submit claims of accidental recordings for up to five Siri-powered devices, with a maximum payout of US$20 per device.