What to Know About Apple’s $95 Million Siri Surveillance Case Settlement

Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of turning its virtual assistant Siri into a spy that spied on users of iPhones and other fashionable devices, betraying its long-standing commitment date in favor of privacy.

The proposed settlement filed in federal court earlier this week still needs to be approved by a judge, but here are some things to know about the case and the privacy concerns it has raised.

What was the trial about?
Class action law firm Wood filed suit against Apple in August 2019, shortly after The Guardian newspaper published an article alleging that Siri’s microphone had been surreptitiously turned on to record conversations taking place at without the users’ knowledge.

Apple released a September 2014 software update that was supposed to activate the virtual assistant only with the trigger words “Hey, Siri,” but the Guardian article claimed that Siri listened to and recorded conversations at other times to help improve company technology.

The story led to the lawsuit, which then raised allegations that Apple shared some of Siri’s secretly recorded conversations with advertisers seeking to connect with consumers more likely to buy their products and services.

How many people are covered by the regulation?
Tens of millions of U.S. consumers who owned or purchased iPhones and other devices equipped with Siri between September 17, 2014 and the end of last year will be able to file a claim.

How much money will each eligible consumer receive?
It’s far too early to know for sure, but the regulations currently call for paying up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, with each consumer limited to a maximum. The final amount could be affected by two factors: the number of claims and how much of the settlement fund is reduced to cover legal fees and costs.

One claims administrator estimates that only 3 to 5 percent of eligible consumers will file claims. Lawyers involved in the case are currently seeking nearly $30 million in fees and expenses, but that figure could be reduced further by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who is overseeing the case in Oakland, California. A court hearing on February 14 has been proposed to review the terms of the settlement.

Did Apple break any laws?
If the allegations were true, Apple may have violated federal wiretapping laws and other laws designed to protect people’s privacy. But Apple has categorically denied any wrongdoing and said it would have been cleared of any wrongdoing if the case had gone to trial. Lawyers representing consumers claimed that Apple’s bad behavior was so egregious that the company could have been liable for $1.5 billion in damages if it lost the case.

Although Apple has not explained the reasons for this settlement, large companies often decide that it makes more sense to resolve class action lawsuits rather than continuing to incur legal fees and risk bad publicity. The lawsuit also took aim at one of Apple’s core values, which considers privacy a “fundamental human right.”

Although $95 million seems like a lot of money, it’s a pittance for Apple. Since September 2014, the company’s total profits have exceeded $700 billion – a streak of prosperity that has helped propel the company’s market value to approximately $3.7 trillion.

Should I be worried about other devices’ microphones spying on me?
Maybe. A case similar to the one filed against Siri is still pending in a federal court in San Jose, California, against Google and its Android software’s virtual assistant, which has been widely used in smartphones for years.

Just in case, how to disable Siri?
You can disable Apple’s virtual assistant by following these simple steps:

1. Go to Siri Settings & Research.

2. Turn off Listen for “Hey Siri” and press the Siri side button.

3. Tap Turn off Siri when a pop-up appears.

You can also disable individual apps’ access to your iPhone’s microphone by doing the following: Go to Settings (select the app), then turn off the microphone.