Five years of litigation and five months of negotiations has resulted in Apple agreeing to a $95m settlement of a Class Action lawsuit which claimed that Apple’s Siri assistant violated users’ privacy.
While the settlement sum may be eyewatering, Settlement Class Members who make valid claims will receive a pro rata payment based on the number of Siri Devices claimed, with a cap of $20 per Siri device.
These devices include Siri-enabled iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch and Apple TVs.
The Class Action alleged that through these devices, confidential or private communications were obtained by Apple and shared with third parties as a result of an unintended Siri activation.
Siri is typically enacted using the command “hey Siri” but it has been claimed that the digital assistant could be unintentionally triggered and begin recording without this command.
The Plaintiffs accused Apple of violating consumer protection laws and privacy laws as a result of this issue.
The Class Period is from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024.
Those eligible to make a claim must be current of former owners or purchasers of a Siri Device, who reside in the US and its territories, and whose confidential or private communications were obtained by Apple and/or were shared with third parties as a result of an unintended Siri activation between Class periods.
The court document said that the estimated Settlement Class size is expected to be “substantial”, and notice will be sent to all purchasers and owners of Siri Devices. The Settlement reflects approximately 10-15% of Plaintiffs’ expected recoverable damages.
Apple has denied all of the allegations made in the lawsuit and denies that Apple did anything improper or unlawful.
The preliminary settlement was filed on December 31, in the Oakland, California federal court.
The Plaintiffs’ Counsel will ask the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees of up to 30% of the Settlement Fund and litigation expenses of up to $1.1m.
Image credit: Roman Larchikov / Shutterstock.com