Users are starting to receive payouts from Apple as a part of a settlement regarding “unlawful and intentional recording” of conversations with Siri. The tech giant had agreed to pay $95 million last year to settle this class action lawsuit.
The virtual assistant which is typically activated after saying the trigger words “Hey Siri,” allegedly recorded users without their knowledge and instruction. The lawsuit also alleged that the recordings were then shared with advertisers to boost consumer sales.
The allegations were initially reported by The Guardian which brought up claims from one of Apple’s contractors about the conversations that are heard as interactions with Siri are reviewed and analyzed. “Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex, as part of their job providing quality control,” the whistleblower said. Nevertheless, this brought up pressing privacy and transparency concerns, especially considering Apple and its CEO Tim Cook had long proclaimed a commitment to privacy.
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Apple shared an official statement saying that less than 1% of Siri activations are analyzed to improve the service. “A small portion of Siri requests are analyzed to improve Siri and dictation. User requests are not associated with the user’s Apple ID. Siri responses are analyzed in secure facilities and all reviewers are under the obligation to adhere to Apple’s strict confidentiality requirements.”
Since then, the company has required users to opt-in to these recordings for “grading” Siri interactions, and they no longer contract these services out.
According to previous reports, millions of customers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of 2024 could file claims. Apple denied wrongdoing, however it settled this case to go forward. Since then, Apple has reportedly taken efforts to improve Siri’s privacy. Claims started being accepted mid last year.
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Claimants are allowed to submit claims up to five devices. While the total settlement amount was $95 million, the final payout per device is lower than earlier estimates. While the statement was originally estimated to pay around $20 per device, with a maximum payout of $100, the final numbers seems to be around $8.02 per device, with a maximum payout of $40.10.
While users who selected directed deposits have begun receiving payments, those who opted for prepaid gift cards or paper checks are expected to receive them by email or post. Settlement administrators have advised users to check spam folders and folders and physical mailboxes.