Apple’s shocking Siri blunder

Apple has agreed to pay $95M to settle a decade-long lawsuit that accuses its voice assistant, Siri, of listening to and recording users' conversations without permission, and Apple of passing these private conversations onto third-party advertisers.

From 17th September 2014 until 31st December 2024, users with an Apple device could be eligible to receive up to $20 per device if they feel—and can swear by oath—that Siri inadvertently listened to their conversations without their permission.

The lawsuit describes how, during the last decade, Siri could be activated without its trigger “Hey Siri’ wake-up word, but by the simple sound of a zipper, movement of an Apple watch, or just voices talking, and would listen and record private conversations. Apple would then (allegedly) share these conversations with third-party advertisers who would then use this intel to create targeted ad campaigns.

This lawsuit contradicts Apple’s long-standing commitment to privacy, and somewhat undermines CEO Tim Cook’s mantra that privacy is a “fundamental human right.”