Apple has decided to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit accusing the company of using Siri to eavesdrop on conversations — and millions of iPhone users could soon qualify for a portion of the payout.
In a statement to Entrepreneur, Apple defended its decision to settle the case and denied all wrongdoing.
“Apple settled this case to avoid additional litigation so we can move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019,” a spokesperson said.
A preliminary settlement for $95 million in cash was filed last week in California Federal court, per Reuters, and it still has to be approved by a U.S. District Judge.
What did the lawsuit allege?
The lawsuit, Lopez v. Apple, Inc. was first filed in 2019 and alleged that Apple discreetly recorded users’ conversations without their permission or knowledge and shared recordings of the conversations with third-party advertisers.
The plaintiffs accused Apple of programming Siri to listen to conversations even when they didn’t speak the “Hey Siri” phrase to activate the voice assistant.
Related: Apple iPhone 7 Users May Be Owed a Slice of a $35 Million Settlement — Here’s How to Claim Your Share
For example, several plaintiffs said they received targeted ads for Air Jordan shoes and Olive Garden after mentioning the footwear brand and restaurant chain out loud.
Another plaintiff claimed to have received ads for a surgical treatment after discussing the procedure with his doctor in what he thought was a private conversation.
What does Apple say about the case?
Apple told Entrepreneur that statements shared with Siri are never given to advertisers and that the plaintiffs presented no evidence in their lawsuit that Apple used Siri recordings to present users with targeted ads.
Apple claims to have never sold Siri data to anyone for any purpose, let alone use the data to help build marketing profiles.
“Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy from the beginning. Siri data has never been used to build marketing profiles, and it has never been sold to anyone for any purpose,” the spokesperson said. “We use Siri data to improve Siri, and we are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private.”
According to Apple, Siri doesn’t tie requests to an Apple account or phone number but instead associates a random string of letters and numbers with a single device. Apple says it disassociates the random string of letters and numbers from your Siri request history every six months.
Related: Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over iCloud’s Alleged ‘Enormous Structural Advantage’
Who is eligible for a payout?
Lawyers for the case have until February 14 to review the terms of the proposed settlement. If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of iPhone users could be eligible for a slice of the pie.
Anyone who owned an iPhone or other Apple device with the “Hey, Siri” feature from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024, is eligible to file a claim, though court documents seen by NPR estimate that only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file.
Related: ‘Subject to Apple’s All-Seeing Eye’: An Apple Manager Is Accusing the Tech Giant of Spying on Employees, According to a New Lawsuit
Users could receive $20 for up to five Siri-enabled devices owned during the period. The more devices, the higher the possible payout.
More details will emerge on how to claim part of the settlement if the judge approves it.
According to Statista, there were over 150 million active iPhones in the United States in 2023.
Related: The U.S. Justice Department Is Suing Apple in a Groundbreaking iPhone Monopoly Lawsuit — Here’s Why
