Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit, claiming that its voice-activated assistant, Siri, violated users' privacy by listening to them without their consent.
iPhone owners complained that Apple routinely recorded their private conversations after Siri was accidentally activated.
A preliminary settlement was filed Tuesday night in federal court in Oakland, California, and awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
Voice assistants typically respond when people use trigger words like "Hey, Siri."
However, the plaintiffs alleged that Apple had not obtained consent before recording their conversations, according to The Guardian.
The lawsuit claimed that these violations occurred between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024.
The issue began when Siri introduced the "Hey, Siri" feature, which allegedly led to unauthorized recordings.
Apple denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement.
The company has also consistently emphasized its commitment to privacy.
In 2018, Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized other tech companies for surveillance practices, stating that "the desire to put profits over privacy is nothing new."
Further, in a 2018 letter to Congress, Apple claimed that its iPhone devices do not "listen" to users.
For context, $95 million is approximately nine hours of profit for Apple, whose net income was $93.74 billion in the last fiscal year.
