Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri eavesdropping issue

Apple has agreed to pay $95m (£77m) to settle a court case alleging that some of its devices were listening in on people without their permission.

The tech giant was accused of spying on its users through its virtual assistant Siri.

The claimants also allege that voice recordings were shared with advertisers.

Apple, which has not admitted any wrongdoing, has been contacted for comment.

i initial settlement, The tech firm denies any wrongdoing, claiming it “disclosed to third parties, or failed to delete, conversations recorded as a result of Siri Activation” without consent.

Apple’s lawyers also say they will confirm that they have “permanently deleted individual Siri audio recordings collected by Apple prior to October 2019”.

But the claimants say the tech firm recorded people who activated the virtual assistant unintentionally — without using the phrase “Hey, Siri” to wake it up.

And they say that advertisers who receive the recordings can search for keywords in them to better target ads.

Apple has proposed a February 14 decision date in an Oakland, California court.

Class action lawsuits are acted upon by a small number of people going to court on behalf of a larger group.

If they succeed, the winnings are paid out to all the contenders.

Each claimant — who is based in the U.S. — could be paid up to $20 per Siri-enabled device she owned between 2014 and 2019, according to court documents.

In this case, lawyers can take 30% of fees plus costs – just under $30m.

By settling, Apple not only denies wrongdoing, it also avoids the risk of facing a lawsuit that could potentially mean a huge payout.

A California company Earned $94.9bn In three months till 28 September 2024.

Apple has been involved in several class action lawsuits in recent years.

In January 2024, it began paying in one A $500 million lawsuit which claimed it deliberately slowed down iPhones in the US.

In March, he agreed Pay $490 million. In a class action led by Norfolk County Council in the UK.

And in November, consumer group Which? launched a class action against Apple, accusing it of ripping off consumers. iCloud service.