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Apple have had to hand over $95,000,000 in a lawsuit that criticized the company for recording private Siri conversations and selling them to third-party advertisers.
While it's not always been the most popular part of your Apple device, Siri has been a foundational aspect of your iPhone or Apple Watch since it launched in September 2014.
There are definitely specific things that you shouldn't ask Siri, and current Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated how much more intelligent the feature will become in the near future with the power of AI, but it's hard to understate how revolutionary it felt at the time of release.
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Being able to get answers to a question that's been bugging you, set reminders, or even check the weather without even touching your phone has been incredibly handy for many, yet the prospect of your gadgets listening in on all your conversations - no matter how private - is something that many consumers have had to reckon with.
That conundrum indeed has been at the heart of a recent class action lawsuit against Apple in California, where plaintiffs have claimed that they received targeted marketing and advertisements specifically after talking about subjects in private and 'outside' of Siri.
As reported by the New York Post, these included Air Jordan Sneakers, the restaurant Olive Garden, and even a specific brand name surgical treatment after discussing it with their doctor in private.
The issue lies in the fact that to work, Siri has to 'always' be listening. While it'll only talk back to you after the trigger words "Hey Siri" are spoken, your device has to be listening and recording in the first place in order to hear those initial words be spoken.
What many aren't happy with then is the fact that these prior recordings are seemingly being kept and sold off to third parties, as it proves to be a major privacy issue that perhaps rivals those pesky covert air fryers that are listening out on your worktop.
As mentioned this is a class action lawsuit, so anyone who owned a Siri-capable Apple device in the period between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024 is eligible for compensation - but expect this to be around only $20 per device.
Apple were probably more than happy to pay it off too, as while $95 million is a lot of money for most companies it would take Apple around 52,197 seconds or 14.5 hours in order to make that figure back.
