Apple Siri wiretapping payout – here’s who’s eligible and how to claim

Apple users may soon be eligible for a cash payout after the iPhone maker agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit involving alleged Siri wiretapping.

A preliminary settlement, filed on December 13, 2024 in Oakland, California, now awaits approval by a US District Judge, Reuters reports.

The lawsuit alleges that Apple violated privacy by capturing Siri conversations when the voice assistant had been accidentally activated and sharing that information with advertisers. It goes back to 2019, when the British newspaper The Guardian reported that Apple hired contractors to listen to Siri recordings of private conversations, including medical appointments, sexual encounters and drug deals.

Apple got into hot water at the time because, although the iPhone maker said that recordings from Siri could be listened to, it did not explicitly state that there was human supervision of the voice assistant. The new Siri lawsuit alleges that Apple failed to inform people that they were regularly being recorded without consent.

In the latest Siri interception, two plaintiffs claimed they mentioned Air Jordan shoes and their iPhones displayed advertisements for the product. Another claimed he received medical ads after discussing a specific surgical treatment with his doctor.

So who might be eligible for a payout when a district judge approves the Siri wiretapping settlement — and what should you do to ensure privacy when using Apple’s voice assistant?

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Who could be eligible for the Siri wiretapping payout?

Now that the case has been settled and received preliminary approval, it is likely that Siri users will be able to make a claim. To be eligible, you must be based in the US and own an Apple device between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024. A website verifying this will be created within 45 days, and you then have until May 15, 2025 to file your claim.

How much will Apple pay Siri users?

Apple will pay out $20 to Siri users, but the good news is that you can submit a claim for each of the devices you use, up to five devices or $100 in total. The settlement payment may be higher depending on the number of submitted and approved claims.

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Siri eavesdropping – should you quit the voice assistant after the allegations?

It’s important to note that Apple has not admitted any wrongdoing in the Siri wiretapping case, and there’s no concrete evidence that the iPhone maker shared recordings with advertisers. Data is collected only to improve Siri, and this is anonymized and not linked to a specific user, Apple says.

Apple said it “continues to deny any alleged wrongdoing and liability, specifically denies each of the plaintiffs’ allegations and claims, and continues to deny that the plaintiffs’ allegations and claims would be suitable for class action status,” according to the filing.

The iPhone maker is simply settling the Siri case to avoid expensive legal costs.

I’ve asked Apple for further comment and will update this article if the company responds.

And the good news is that Apple offers plenty of privacy settings to prevent Siri from eavesdropping on your conversations. First, the voice assistant’s data collection for analysis is now opt-in only, a change made in 2019 following the original requirements.

If you’re really worried about Siri eavesdropping, you can turn off the voice assistant entirely. Apple uses several artificial intelligence to boost Siri, and some users just won’t be comfortable with it.