Apple's $95 million Siri settlement: Who is eligible and how much you could receive

Hindustan Times

20-05-2025

After being sued for allegedly allowing its voice assistant Siri to listen in on conversations, Apple decided to settle a class-action lawsuit in early 2025 for $95 million. A claims website has now been launched, allowing you to check if you're eligible for a portion of this settlement.
The settlement period spans ten years, and with the widespread use of Apple products, there's a good chance you could be eligible for a payment. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can claim a payment for up to five Siri-enabled devices, although there is a cap on how much you can receive per device. More details on the specific amounts are provided below.
This settlement could affect a wide range of people, given the vast reach of Apple's product ecosystem. According to a report from Business of Apps in November 2024, citing company and market research data, there were around 155 million active iPhones in the US. This number has been steadily increasing since the iPhone's release. Similarly, the number of active Apple TV streaming boxes in the US reached over 32 million by 2023.
To find out if you are eligible for this settlement, read on. You can also check out the latest updates on the delay of T-Mobile's data breach settlement checks.
The class action lawsuit, Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., was filed in 2019. Plaintiffs claimed that their Apple devices had been recording them without their knowledge after accidentally activating the Siri virtual assistant. This, they argued, violated their privacy. They also alleged that these recordings were then sold to advertisers and used to target them with ads.
Specific incidents mentioned in the lawsuit included plaintiffs seeing ads for brands like Air Jordan and Olive Garden after discussing these brands aloud. In some cases, plaintiffs said their devices started listening without them saying anything. One of the plaintiffs was even a minor when the lawsuit was filed.
While Apple has agreed to the settlement, the company has not admitted to any wrongdoing.
"Siri has been designed to protect user privacy from the start," Apple said in a statement. "Siri data has never been used to create marketing profiles, nor has it been sold to anyone for any purpose. We settled this case to avoid further litigation and move on from concerns about third-party grading that we addressed in 2019. We use Siri data to improve Siri and are constantly developing new technologies to make it even more private."
The settlement is open to anyone who owned a Siri-enabled Apple device between 17 September 2014 and 31 December 2024. To opt in, you must swear under oath that at some point during that period, you unintentionally activated Siri on each device you want to claim for, and that these activations happened during a private conversation.
Siri-enabled devices include iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, iMacs, Apple TV streaming boxes, HomePod speakers, and iPod Touches.
A claims website was launched on Thursday, 8 May, where eligible Apple customers can submit a claim. You can submit your claim until 2 July 2025.
It's not yet clear when payments will be issued, but it's expected to be after 1 August 2025, when a final approval hearing is scheduled.
The payment per device will be capped at $20, but depending on how many people opt in, you may receive less. Each individual can claim payments for up to five devices, so the maximum possible payout is $100.
For more on Apple, check out why most users don't like Apple Intelligence and learn about an iOS setting that can stop apps from tracking you.