Have you ever had a conversation in your home and Siri turns on without you saying the activation phrase, “hey Siri”? Or maybe you’re discussing couch options with your spouse and all of a sudden you are seeing endless ads for couches even though you never searched for a couch on your phone. Well, it seems like this creepy mystery has finally been solved – a lawsuit alleging that Apple’s Siri has been eavesdropping on conversations is being settled for $95 million.
In 2019, an investigation took place that found that Apple disclosed some of these recordings to contractors. These recordings included confidential medical information, drug deals, private recordings of couples having sex, and more. While Apple stated that the sharing of these recordings was to improve Siri, it did not disclose to consumers the fact that actual humans would be listening to these recordings. The contractor went public with this information back in 2019, causing understandable outrage from consumers. While Apple stopped the practice of allowing human contractors to listen to these recordings, unfortunately for Apple, the cat was out of the bag and consumers started to wonder why Apple was listening to conversations without Siri being activated.
In August 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple claiming that Apple activated Siri on iPhones and other Apple devices to record conversations even if individuals did not activate Siri by saying the activation phrase “hey Siri”. The lawsuit claimed violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, California Unfair Competition Law, California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and more.
The lawsuit claims that the Plaintiff’s Apple devices automatically triggered Siri while the Plaintiff was having a private conversation in his bedroom. The Plaintiff also alleges that he spoke to his physician about his medical condition and a medication that the doctor recommended and he received advertisements for his medical condition and the drug afterward. The Plaintiffs also state that they observed accidental activations of Siri in private settings such as the bedroom. The Court found that it is plausible that the targeted ads were shown due to Siri intercepting these private conversations.
While Apple is not acknowledging any wrongdoing in the settlement, tens of millions of consumers who owned Apple devices from September 17, 2024, through the end of 2025 could file claims. With a $95 million settlement, each consumer could receive up to $20 per device that had Siri enabled, with a maximum of 5 devices being claimed. While Apple has made profits of $705 billion since September 2014, a lot of consumers and consumer rights groups are questioning whether this settlement is appropriate – $20 per consumer whose privacy rights were infringed upon and whose private conversations were recorded and even shared with advertisers without their permission seems very slim. These lawsuits and fines underscore the importance of a comprehensive federal privacy law in the United States that provides consumers with actual redress and compensation for such egregious harms.
