Apple’s $95M Siri Eavesdropping Settlement: Tens of Millions Could Claim Up to $20 Per Device

• Apple has offered $95 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged it secretly recorded users and sent some of the recordings to advertisers.
• Tens of millions of Apple users may be eligible to make a claim.
• Apple has long positioned itself as a champion of privacy for its users.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a five-year-old lawsuit alleging that it had been secretly activating Siri to eavesdrop on users on their devices.

The lawsuit claimed Apple recorded users without their knowledge and sometimes shared the recordings with advertisers to target specific goods and services.

If the settlement is accepted, tens of millions of eligible Apple users could receive up to $20 per device.

Apple Attempts Settlement

Apple filed the settlement on Tuesday in a California federal court, although it refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.

Reuters reported , citing court documents, that one plaintiff in the lawsuit claimed he had received advertisements for a surgical treatment after discussing it with his doctor.

After discussing them around their devices, two other plaintiffs said they had received advertisements for specific restaurant chains and shoe brands.

The lawsuit covers the period from Sept. 17, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2024, beginning when Siri incorporated the “Hey, Siri” feature. However, the lawsuit alleges secret recordings were made even when users didn’t activate the virtual assistant.

Consumers Could Be Eligible

Users who owned iPhones or other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, could be entitled to compensation of up to $20 per device.

All eligible users will be limited to a maximum of five devices.

However, the payment could be made larger or smaller depending on how many users make a claim.

If the settlement is accepted, Apple will get away with just a fraction of the $1.5 billion that opposing lawyers estimated it would pay if found guilty of privacy infringement at trial.

The attorneys leading the lawsuit seek $29.6 million from Apple’s settlement to cover legal fees.

Apple reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its 2024 fiscal year, making its settlement just 0.1% of its overall revenue. In fact, Reuters reported  that Apple makes $95 million around every nine hours.

Apple and Privacy

Apple has long positioned itself as a champion of user privacy, with a frequently publicized focus from CEO Tim Cook and a swathe of product features.

Features like on-device processing for Siri requests, app tracking transparency, and end-to-end encryption in iMessage have been promoted as crucial parts of the Apple ecosystem.

Cook has also repeatedly described privacy as a “fundamental human right,” and the company has claimed  it uses cutting-edge technologies and techniques to protect users’ privacy.

Apple’s lawsuit comes at the same time as a similar case on behalf of users of Google’s Voice Assistant. The lawsuit against the search engine giant, which is being represented by the same law firms as the Apple case, again alleges eavesdropping on users.

As more and more voice assistants enter the tech world, these alleged privacy breaches could potentially damage how confident users feel at the hands of Big Tech.