Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging its Siri voice assistant violated users' privacy by recording private conversations without consent.

The settlement, filed in the federal court in Oakland, California, awaits approval from district judge Jeffrey White and could benefit tens of millions of users who owned Siri-enabled devices between September 2014 and December 2024.

Several device owners reported that Apple had recorded their private conversations following unintended activations of Siri, with the company subsequently sharing these recordings with third parties, including advertisers. Two complainants described receiving targeted advertisements for Air Jordan trainers and Olive Garden restaurants after merely mentioning these brands. Another plaintiff reported seeing ads for a specific surgical treatment following what he believed was a private consultation with his doctor.

The issue stems from Siri's "Hey, Siri" feature, introduced in September 2014, which plaintiffs claim led to unauthorised recordings. Under the proposed settlement, affected users may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, including iPhones and Apple Watches.

The settlement amount represents approximately nine hours of profit for the Cupertino-based technology giant, which reported net income of $93.74 billion in its most recent fiscal year. While agreeing to the settlement, Apple has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

The legal team representing the plaintiffs may seek up to $28.5 million in fees, plus $1.1 million for expenses, to be paid from the settlement fund.

A similar legal challenge involving Google's Voice Assistant is currently proceeding through the federal court in San Jose, California, with the same law firms representing the plaintiffs as in the Apple case.

The privacy concerns surrounding voice assistants gained prominence following a 2019 report in The Guardian, which revealed that Apple's third-party contractors regularly encountered confidential information while conducting quality control work on Siri recordings. Following these revelations, Apple issued a formal apology and discontinued its practice of retaining audio recordings.

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