Siri “unintentionally” recorded private convos; Apple agrees to pay $95M

[badgolferman]

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its
voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were
then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.

In the proposed class-action settlement—which comes after five years of
litigation—Apple admitted to no wrongdoing. Instead, the settlement refers
to "unintentional" Siri activations that occurred after the "Hey, Siri"
feature was introduced in 2014, where recordings were apparently prompted
without users ever saying the trigger words, "Hey, Siri."

Sometimes Siri would be inadvertently activated, a whistleblower told The
Guardian, when an Apple Watch was raised and speech was detected. The only
clue that users seemingly had of Siri's alleged spying was eerily accurate
targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific
items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted (claims
which remain disputed).

It's currently unknown how many customers were affected, but if the
settlement is approved, the tech giant has offered up to $20 per
Siri-enabled device for any customers who made purchases between September
17, 2014, and December 31, 2024. That includes iPhones, iPads, Apple
Watches, MacBooks, HomePods, iPod touches, and Apple TVs, the settlement
agreement noted. Each customer can submit claims for up to five devices.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/01/apple-agrees-to-pay-95m-delete-private-conversations-siri-recorded/

[Andrew]

Post by badgolferman
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its
voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were
then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.
In the proposed class-action settlement�Xwhich comes after five years of
litigation�XApple admitted to no wrongdoing. Instead, the settlement refers
to "unintentional" Siri activations that occurred after the "Hey, Siri"
feature was introduced in 2014, where recordings were apparently prompted
without users ever saying the trigger words, "Hey, Siri."
Sometimes Siri would be inadvertently activated, a whistleblower told The
Guardian, when an Apple Watch was raised and speech was detected. The only
clue that users seemingly had of Siri's alleged spying was eerily accurate
targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific
items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted (claims
which remain disputed).
It's currently unknown how many customers were affected, but if the
settlement is approved, the tech giant has offered up to $20 per
Siri-enabled device for any customers who made purchases between September
17, 2014, and December 31, 2024. That includes iPhones, iPads, Apple
Watches, MacBooks, HomePods, iPod touches, and Apple TVs, the settlement
agreement noted. Each customer can submit claims for up to five devices.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/01/apple-agrees-to-pay-95m-delete-private-conversations-siri-recorded/

While Apple is no better or worse than Google in murdering privacy, what's
DIFFERENT about Apple is that Apple claims to care about your privacy.

Yet every fact about Apple products shows Apple murdered privacy too.

Apple is the expert in pious duplicity.

[Jolly Roger]

Post by badgolferman
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that
its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that
were then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.

Mature adults understand that is an unsupported claim made by the
plaintiffs. And considering the plaintiffs settled willingly, one
naturally wonders if there is any actual evidence supporting this claim.

[Andrew]

Post by Jolly Roger

Post by badgolferman
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that
its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that
were then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.

Mature adults understand that is an unsupported claim made by the
plaintiffs. And considering the plaintiffs settled willingly, one
naturally wonders if there is any actual evidence supporting this claim.

Of course there's no evidence. It's never Apple's fault.
It's the lawyers' fault. Apple hires the worst lawyers they can find.
That's why Apple constantly loses all these lawsuits, Jolly Roger.
If only Apple had enough money in the bank to hire better lawyers. Sigh.

[Jolly Roger]

Post by Andrew

Post by Jolly Roger

Post by badgolferman
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging
that its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private
conversations that were then shared with third parties and used for
targeted ads.

Mature adults understand that is an unsupported claim made by the
plaintiffs. And considering the plaintiffs settled willingly, one
naturally wonders if there is any actual evidence supporting this claim.

Of course there's no evidence.

Facts don't care about your feelings, little Arlen. There's no evidence
that Apple sold Siri data to anyone. The plaintiffs settled rather than
taking it to trial for a reason.

[Alan]

Post by Andrew

Post by Jolly Roger

Post by badgolferman
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that
its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that
were then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.

Mature adults understand that is an unsupported claim made by the
plaintiffs. And considering the plaintiffs settled willingly, one
naturally wonders if there is any actual evidence supporting this claim.

Of course there's no evidence. It's never Apple's fault.
It's the lawyers' fault. Apple hires the worst lawyers they can find.
That's why Apple constantly loses all these lawsuits, Jolly Roger.
If only Apple had enough money in the bank to hire better lawyers. Sigh.

Big corporations get sued?

I'm shocked I tell you! Shocked!