Ever caught yourself wondering if your phone is listening to you?I think we all have! Well, for some Apple users, that paranoia might not have been so far-fetched after all. The tech giant has just agreed to shell out $95 million to settle claims that Siri, its virtual assistant, was eavesdropping on users without their consent.
The lawsuit, filed in Northern California, alleges something straight out of a tech nightmare: Siri was allegedly recording people even when they hadn’t said the magic words “Hey, Siri.” Even more concerning, these recordings were reportedly shared with advertisers who could mine them for keywords to target ads more effectively.
One of the main plaintiffs, Fumiko Lopez, claims she and her daughter started seeing suspiciously specific ads after discussing certain products, including Air Jordans, coincidence much?
While Apple isn’t admitting to any wrongdoing, they’re taking some concrete steps as part of the settlement. The company’s lawyers say they’ll confirm that all Siri recordings collected before October 2019 have been permanently deleted. For Apple, whose revenue hit a whopping $94.9 billion in just three months last year, the $95 million settlement might seem like pocket change.
If you’re a U.S. resident who owned a Siri-enabled device between 2014 and 2019, you might be eligible for a payout of up to $20 per device. The lawyers will take their cut too – about $30 million in fees and expenses.
This isn’t Apple’s first rodeo with class action lawsuits. They recently started paying out $500 million over claims they deliberately slowed down iPhones, and agreed to a $490 million settlement in the UK. The tech giant is also facing fresh challenges, including a lawsuit from consumer group Which? over its iCloud service.
Interestingly, Apple isn’t alone in these privacy concerns. Google is facing similar allegations in the same court, with users claiming their devices were listening in without permission.
The court is expected to make a final decision on February 14 – a Valentine’s Day that might show just how much Apple loves its users’ privacy.
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