Apple has agreed to a $95 million (over R1.78 billion) settlement to resolve a lawsuit that alleged its voice assistant, Siri, was eavesdropping on private conversations.
According to a recent court filing, Apple maintains that it has not engaged in any wrongdoing.
“Apple has at all times denied and continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing and liability,” the company stated in the settlement, which still requires a judge’s approval before becoming final.
The class-action lawsuit, initially filed five years ago, claimed that Siri was inadvertently recording conversations from users with iPhones, iPads, HomePods, and other Apple devices equipped with the digital assistant.
ALSO READ: University of Sydney Offers Scholarships for Outstanding International Undergraduate Students
Apple, which has long promoted itself as a leader in user privacy, was accused of allowing “unintended Siri activation” to capture conversations that were later accessed by the company and potentially shared with third parties.
As part of the settlement, a $95 million fund has been proposed, which would compensate U.S. customers with up to $20 (around R374) per affected device.
Additionally, Apple must confirm that any accidentally recorded conversations have been deleted and ensure users have clear choices regarding how their voice data is used for Siri’s improvement.
Apple has yet to comment on the settlement.
This case follows a similar incident in 2023, when Amazon agreed to pay over $30 million (approximately R562 million) to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to resolve allegations of privacy violations involving its Ring doorbell cameras and Alexa voice assistant.
