Hey Siri, let’s chat!
Google and Apple have been caught recording millions of unsuspecting users’ conversations, and they’re gearing up to pay a total of $163 million to settle wiretapping allegations from two major lawsuits.
Apple is starting to disburse funds to resolve a $95 million class-action lawsuit that claims the tech company spied on users who never even activated Siri with the phrase “Hey, Siri,” according to court documents.
Some users noted they received ads for places like Olive Garden and Air Jordan after discussing them in these secretly recorded chats.
On the other hand, Google has tentatively agreed to a $68 million settlement regarding a situation where Google Assistant recorded users without prompting them with “OK Google,” based on court documents reviewed by The Post.
This settlement stems from a 2019 lawsuit and is still waiting for a judge’s approval.
Siri and Google Assistant are voice-activated helpers that can do a variety of tasks like sending texts or making calls. Both companies have been accused of utilizing these secret recordings to enhance their products, though they maintain their innocence.
According to The Mac Observer, Apple is now implementing a system where users have to explicitly agree to let their voice recordings be used to refine Siri.
Anyone who bought an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch, or Apple TV between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, and experienced an accidental Siri activation can claim a payment. Users may receive payouts via prepaid cards or direct deposit.
Individuals can get up to $20 for each Siri-enabled device, capping at five devices per person.
Interestingly, the $95 million settlement is just a drop in the bucket for Apple, which reported a whopping $93.74 billion in net income last year.
Apple has stated that it denies any allegations from the lawsuit and insists it did nothing inappropriate or illegal.
The 2019 lawsuit, filed by Fumiko Lopez and others, claimed that recorded conversations were shared with outside companies, like restaurants, resulting in targeted ads appearing in Apple Search and Safari.
The plaintiffs noticed that mentions of products such as Olive Garden and Air Jordan led to ad placements for those very items.
One person even mentioned receiving an ad for a medical procedure after talking with a doctor.
Back in 2020, Apple had to pay $113 million to resolve another lawsuit claiming it slowed down older iPhone models to prompt users to upgrade, which they also denied. In this case against Google, all U.S. users who purchased a Google device between May 18, 2016, and December 16, 2022, with a Gmail account tied to a Google Assistant-enabled device qualify for the settlement.
As for the final settlement, it still awaits federal judicial approval.
