How to claim your $20 from Apple’s $95 million Siri privacy settlement

Want $20 for every Apple device you've ever heard of? The Cupertino-based tech giant is set to spend up to $95 million to settle claims that Siri is too eager to eavesdrop on private conversations.

According to court documents filed on December 13, 2024 in Oakland, California, Apple did not admit fault but agreed to compensate US users up to $100 per family.

The settlement addresses allegations that the voice assistant could record conversations without the “Hey Siri” prompt and store and share this information with advertisers.

Here's a quick guide to claiming your share of the $95 million settlement.

How to pay

To be eligible for the settlement, you must be a US resident who owned one or more qualifying devices between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024. The process requires filing a claim and affidavit by May 15, 2025. That activated Siri without your permission.

The website to submit your claim is no longer active. Once the page is activated, users should follow the news and check the official page to be considered. It should be ready in less than 45 days.

The settlement covers several Apple devices, including iPhone 6 and newer models, iPads released since 2014, all generations of Apple Watch, HomePod and HomePod Mini, as well as MacBooks and iMacs made since 2014.

Under the terms of the agreement, users can receive $20 for each eligible device, with a maximum payment of $100 for up to five devices per household. The final payment may increase if fewer claims are submitted than expected. The legal team representing the plaintiffs will receive approximately $30 million from the settlement fund.

The claims process will begin when the official settlement website is launched, which is expected in February 2025. Users must collect their device serial numbers or proof of purchase in advance. After the site launches, claimants can fill out the online form, submit the requested documents, select their preferred payment method and submit their claim before the May 15 deadline.

Hey Siri, stop listening

The allegations stem from a 2019 exposé by The Guardian, which revealed that Apple contractors regularly received private copies of Siri. According to the claims, the contractors eavesdropped on medical appointments, business deals and intimate moments — and also allegedly shared them with advertisers.

The experience of lead plaintiff Fumiko Lopez highlights the violation of privacy. The BBC reported that shortly after discussing Air Jordan shoes at home, she and her son noticed targeted ads for the exact models they mentioned. Another plaintiff said they saw advertisements for certain medical treatments shortly after discussing them with their doctor.

“Apple has at all times denied and continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing and liability,” the court filing said. The company says Siri data collection is only used to improve the service and remains anonymous.

In addition to the $95 million payment, the settlement requires Apple to ensure that all Siri audio recordings collected before October 2019 are permanently deleted.

This settlement comes at a time of growing concern over AI-powered voice assistants and AI in general. Similar lawsuits have targeted other tech giants, and Google is facing a parallel class action in California.

“Plaintiffs in the suit allege that Google Assistant can activate and record Google Assistant even if they don't intentionally trigger Google Assistant with a hot word like ‘Okay Google,' or if they don't activate Google Assistant on their device,” the class action lawsuit reads.

Amazon has agreed to pay $25 million in 2023 for similar privacy violations related to its Alexa devices, the SEC filing said, in violation of the law that “complaints that Amazon kept children's voice recordings indefinitely by default.”

Of course, all these companies have said that they respect and protect the privacy of their users. This is especially important considering that they are all developing their own generative AI models to improve their user experience, and this requires tons and tons of data.

If you want to be more careful and protect your privacy, you can disable Siri from automatically activating or stop using AI assistants. It's not ideal, but that's the world we live in.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.