Apple pays $95 million to settle lawsuit

Apple has filed a preliminary settlement in federal court in Oakland, California, agreeing to pay $95 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit accusing Apple’s Siri voice feature of violating customers’ privacy.

The settlement submitted by the company requires the approval of U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White to be approved, according to Reuters.

This comes after complaints from mobile device owners that Apple routinely records their private conversations after they unintentionally activate Siri, and those conversations are disclosed to other parties, including advertisers.

According to CNBC, two of the plaintiffs said that mentioning Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants led to ads for those products appearing. Another added that he saw ads for a surgical treatment provided by a medical center after talking about it with his doctor alone.

The class action period covers September 17, 2014, through December 31, 2024. It began with the introduction of Siri’s “Hey Siri” feature, which is believed to be causing unauthorized recordings.

The tens of millions of users of the service could receive about $20 for each Siri-enabled device, such as the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Despite Apple agreeing to the settlement, the company has denied any wrongdoing in the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys could seek up to $28.5 million in fees, plus $1.1 million in expenses from the settlement fund.

The $95 million the company will pay in the settlement is roughly what Apple makes in about nine hours. The company’s net income was $93.74 billion in its most recent fiscal year.