A preliminary settlement agreement has been filed in the federal court of Oakland, California, and requires the approval of U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
Mobile device owners have reported that Apple regularly recorded their private conversations after they unintentionally activated Siri and shared these conversations with third parties, such as advertisers.
Voice assistants typically respond when people use "hot words," like "Hey, Siri."
Two plaintiffs claimed that their mentions of Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered advertisements for those products. Another stated that he received ads for surgical treatments from well-known brands after discussing it, what he thought was, privately with his doctor.
The training period lasted from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024. It all began when Siri activated the "Hey, Siri" feature, which allegedly led to unauthorized recordings.